


Woodwose

by Hermaline75



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Anal Sex, Florists, Frottage, M/M, Nymphs & Dryads, Oral Sex, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:55:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 30,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25766335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hermaline75/pseuds/Hermaline75
Summary: Thor's done pretty well for himself. A bustling florist in a small-ish town. He just wants to grow plants and be left alone.Which would be a lot easier if he wasn't being stalked by a guy who's convinced that he's the heir to some kind of fairy kingdom...
Relationships: Loki/Thor
Comments: 574
Kudos: 402





	1. Chapter 1

"But how do I make it pink? When I bought it, it was pink, but now it's blue."

Thor tried his best not to sigh, the shop bell tinkling gently as someone else entered his little florist's, squeezed into a tiny shop front between an artisan cafe and a barber. He felt like every month this woman came back to tell him she was having trouble with her plants. And he didn't mind, but at the same time, he did provide full instructions...

"Did you re-pot it out of the container it came in?" he asked.

She blinked, long lashes like butterfly wings.

"Of course. I planted it in the garden. I want it to spread."

"Well, that might be the problem. The hydrangea is a very interesting plant and its colour is affected by soil pH. It's like a living litmus test. For pink, you need a more alkaline soil, like what was in the container, but the local earth here is naturally acidic. It's all to do with aluminium actually..."

"Can't you fix it?"

The pout, the lean, just shy of flirtatious. Barely shy. Thor wasn't always immune to such charms, but really, if people would just _read_ the plant care information...

"I can sell you some lime to treat your soil. It'll take a while to take effect and you'll have to be careful about your fertilizer and apply it every three to four weeks but you should at least get more of a mauve than blue."

He became aware of the other customer in his peripheral vision and wondered if they needed help. Long black hair, deep green clothes. Unusual. Old-fashioned, but not an era he could quite pin down. Touching some newly sprouted tulips with something close to reverence.

Probably one of those New Age hippy types. Harmless but a bit weird about plants. And Thor should know a thing or two about being weird about plants.

Carefully wrapping a bouquet of narcissi to go with the lime and seeing his regular out, Thor tried not to seem pushy with this newcomer.

"Let me know if you need any help."

They didn't turn, just gently ran a somewhat grubby nail down the curved leaf.

"You grew this."

It wasn't a question, but Thor still felt he ought to say something.

"Yes, I did. Split some bulbs last year. They should have some good colour. It's an interesting variety with variegated petals in yellow and red."

Turning to a display of succulents, the figure seemed a little perturbed.

"You did not grow these."

"Uh..." Thor said. "Uh, no, they're new. I've bought them in and I've started cultivation upstairs. Are you only interested in native plants? I have some local wildflower seeds and most of the outdoor species are suitable for the climate with the right care"

He got his first look at this stranger as they turned to face him, a little frown, like they were confused. Handsome, his mind supplied, somewhat unhelpfully. Very much so. Sharp cheekbones, bright, green eyes. Putting Thor somehow in mind of a willow; beautiful, but able to cut the unwary.

"You own this... place?"

"Yes. Well... I rent the shop space and the flat upstairs, but the business is mine. Been going about three years now."

Nodding, glancing around.

"You need to come with me."

Thor blinked a couple of times before laughing, a little awkward.

"Oh, right," he said. "Why?"

"Because we need you."

"Right. And who's we?"

"The forest."

The tone had an implied "duh" to it that Thor really found baffling. The guy had an unusual accent, not one he could place, and Thor wondered suddenly if there was actually a language issue here.

"I really only work with domestic horticulture, but I'm sure I could put you in contact with someone more experienced..."

"No. No, it has to be you. You're the one we need. I've been sent to find you."

Uh... huh...

"Um... I think you might have confused me with somebody else," Thor said. "I'd like to ask you to leave now if you're not interested in buying anything."

More nodding.

"Ah, yes. They said you were likely to require some convincing. Very well. I shall return with evidence."

He rushed off, leaving Thor thoroughly confused to finish off the rest of his working day, closing the shop and heading upstairs to attend to the growing rooms - well, the growing trays that occupied most of his one-bedroom flat, little sproutlets under their UV lights. Needing some water or fertilizer or more space before he could think about selling them or trying to pollinate and cultivate more.

Green-fingered, they said. Even when he was a boy in the children's home and they did little projects with plants, his summer sunflower always grew tallest, his beans always sprouted first. He just had a knack for it.

He'd done a horticulture apprenticeship mainly because he didn't think he was good at anything else, but developed a real passion for it. With nothing more than dirt, water and sunlight, you could bring things to life. It was practically magic.

Years of gardening for other people and working in big garden centres eventually gave him the itch to grow more of what he wanted, to be independent. And it was hard and he had debts and he essentially never had a day off, but it was what he loved to do. He was very lucky in a lot of ways.

Forests, though... He knew very little about them apart from theoretically. He was much too urban for that. He was all about small gardens, house plants, window boxes.

Speaking of which, it had been a dry few days. His hanging baskets could probably use some attention.

As the excess water spilled onto the pavement, he had the strangest feeling that he was being watched, trying to glance subtly over his shoulder, half expecting to find a pair of green eyes gazing at him.

No one there. Just his imagination.

Still, that had been a strange meeting with a strange man. Maybe strange enough to make Thor feel a little uneasy as he pulled the shutters down and went back upstairs to start making dinner, chopping up some of his own basil and rosemary, his own fresh tomatoes from the windowsill.

Probably nothing though. Just an eccentric.

He'd probably never see him again.


	2. Chapter 2

"Anyway, I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding."

Sif looked at him over the allotment with some concern. She always pretended she didn't enjoy coming down and helping out with weeding and digging, but with her office work seeming to pile up more and more by the day, Thor suspected that she actually liked being outside and getting her hands dirty, especially on a nice day.

"Are you sure? That sounds pretty intense. And weird. Should this cauliflower look like this, by the way?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Anyway, it was probably nothing. Whoever he is, he hasn't come back with evidence yet anyway."

"Evidence of what?"

"No idea. About me being needed for his forest for whatever reason."

"Maybe he was hitting on you. Maybe it was a metaphor."

Thor made himself laugh. Sif always thought people were hitting on him. Sometimes she was right, but generally not. She had some strange idea that he was lonely or something.

"I think he was a harmless weirdo," he said. "A strange little anecdote for parties."

"You don't go to parties."

"Well, I can't. I don't have enough anecdotes."

They finished up, Sif driving them back to Thor's place, plans for dinner and beer as the sun went down.

There was a plant on Thor's doorstep. A small, unpotted plant, only a few leaves and bare roots. Someone else might just brush it aside, not noticing it or thinking it was just a twig, but those were definitely roots and green leaves. It was alive, or it could be with the right care.

"Has it fallen down from one of your baskets?" Sif asked, squinting upwards as Thor picked it up gently. "Maybe a bird pulled it up or something?"

"I don't think so. It's a sapling. You know. A baby tree."

"What kind?"

"Looks like an oak maybe. But there aren't any in the streets around here. It's like it's been placed deliberately. Why would someone just leave it? Seems like a lot of effort."

"Well, you're a plant guy. If they dug it up by mistake and didn't want it to just die... You know, like leaving kittens on a vet's doorstep."

Thor's heart did an uncomfortable thud, hoping it wasn't obvious on his face.

"I don't think that's quite the same thing," he said.

He took it inside anyway, getting a small pot and some compost, watering it in. It was definitely an oak, he thought, with those distinct rippling leaves. He touched them gently, checking it over. No sign of drought or disease. It would probably survive well enough.

He had no idea what he'd do with it though. Keep it, probably. Any excuse for a new plant.

Sif had already got dinner well underway when he took it upstairs, finding a spot on the crowded windowsill somehow. He quite liked having a best friend who made herself so at home. People always thought they were a couple, but honestly maybe it was better that way. People were unreliable, in Thor's experience.

Or maybe that's just what being abandoned did to you.

Sif didn't know that, of course. She didn't even know he'd been in care. When the subject of family had come up years ago, he'd just told her that he didn't get on with his parents, and she had never pushed. He'd always meant to tell her eventually, but the time had never been right. It was just a difficult thing to talk about. It was unusual. People were always curious, always wanted to know more, which was natural, Thor supposed.

They'd ask if he knew who his parents were. If he'd done any of that DNA research.

Of course he had. No matches, ever. Not even a distant cousin. It was like he'd dropped out of the sky.

Those words kept floating round his brain all evening. _Like leaving kittens on a vet's doorstep._ Just when he thought he'd become immune to sudden reminders...

"Are you alright?" Sif asked. "You seem a bit... off."

"Just a bit tired. Spring time, you know. Always over exert myself. Still recovering from Christmas really. All those rush living wreath orders and poinsettias."

"Should I go? I can get a cab home."

"No, no. It's fine."

She slept in the other half of his bed. It wasn't weird, not to Thor anyway. They'd tried having sex a few times in periods of mutual frustration and whilst it was fun, there wasn't much more to it than that. Sleeping together was just that.

It took him a while to drift off, for all that he really was knackered. Something about that tree had stirred up some old feelings, some loneliness. Which was ridiculous. He had his shop, his flat, his friends - well, more his friend singular, but he knew other people. He had his plants. He didn't need a family. It didn't normally bother him.

He was asleep when he suddenly heard Sif shriek, out of bed and stumbling towards the lounge before he'd even woken up.

"Wha' is it?" he mumbled, blinking in the morning light. "Spider?"

"Look!"

He looked.

Hmm.

That was a very large sapling all of a sudden.


	3. Chapter 3

The plastic pot had split neatly up one side, soil spilt all over the floor and coils of roots sprouting out of it. Where there had been a narrow stem last night, there was now a trunk perhaps an inch thick topped by a full complement of leaves.

It was like it had grown five years in just one night.

"That's not normal," Sif said pointing at it, still wearing one of Thor's T-shirts.

"No. No, it's not."

"Then what's happened to it? Is it... I don't know, radioactive? God, don't touch it!"

Thor couldn't resist. It was incredible. No fertilizer he'd ever seen could do this. And he'd never heard of any variety of tree growing so much overnight. Sure, some bamboos you could see growing taller, but oaks? He'd never heard of that.

He ran his fingers up the trunk, along one of the branches, out onto the leaves. Beautiful. Strong.

"Needs a bigger pot," he murmured.

"Really? That's your takeaway from having a miracle tree in your house?"

"It must be just a freak anomaly."

He took it downstairs as she showered, replanting it into a terracotta pot and putting it into his window display. Full sunlight. It would be happy there.

Trees were rather outside his experience, apart from some summers fruit picking years ago. Apples, plums, cherries. Only things you could eat. But while he admired bonsais, they required a lot of careful cultivating.

There was something about this specimen though. It was very cheerful somehow.

He was setting up to open when Sif came downstairs, wet hair pulled back into a rough ponytail.

"Be careful," she said. "There must be something strange about it to grow so fast. I don't want you getting any... tree diseases."

"I'm not sure humans can catch diseases from plants."

"What if it's a poison oak?"

"I don't think those grow in Europe. And you should be off if you're going to change in time for work."

She gave him an exasperated look.

"Alright, well, don't sell it to anyone. I've seen _Little Shop of Horrors._ If it starts talking to you and asking for blood..."

"I talk to the plants, Sif. They don't talk back."

"Well, still. Text me if it gets bigger."

She left, flipping the shop sign to open as she went, Thor shaking his head fondly.

"You're not dangerous, are you?" he murmured to the oak, watering it into its new pot. "No. Just unusual. I'm sure there's a perfectly rational explanation."

After an hour in which three people came in to inquire about the beautiful miniature tree, Thor wrote a sign for it. "Not for sale." Sif was right, he couldn't be sure that there wasn't something wrong with it. He didn't want to be responsible for an outbreak of ash dieback or Dutch elm disease in someone's valuable bonsai collection.

It didn't help completely. People still came in asking him to reconsider. It seemed he wasn't the only one feeling strangely drawn to it.

In quiet moments, he tried looking up tree disorders that might cause rapid growth, but only really found fungal infections that made strange shapes erupt from trunks. It wasn't that. There wasn't anything unusual about the way it was growing from what he could tell. It was just very, very fast.

He was even trying an old botany book that he mainly kept around for the aesthetic, squinting at old black and white pictures trying to see something that looked like overnight growth when the shop bell rang.

"Hello," he said. "Do let me know if I can be of any assistance."

"You got our gift."

Thor looked up to find the man from a few days ago, beaming at him, apparently absolutely thrilled.

"The tree is from you?" Thor asked. "What's wrong with it?"

The smile disappeared, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Wrong? Nothing. Quite the opposite. I thought you were the right one before but now I know. Only the true heir could do this."

"What? No, look, I didn't do anything to it. I put it in a pot and this just... happened. Overnight."

"You cared for it and it recognised you. Is this sufficient proof? Will you come with me now?"

"Why? Why me?"

"Because you are the lost prince of the oak dryads."

Thor folded his arms. Oh, he knew exactly what this was.

"Alright, very funny," he said. "Is this Sif's doing? Where are the hidden cameras? I mean, it was a nice touch, ripping the pot like that, pretending it was the same plant. And you're a great actor, I mean, seriously, bravo..."

The man seemed confused. Still playing along. He was going to have to get Sif back really well for this one. She'd played him expertly.

"You're still not convinced? But the tree..."

"It's impossible," Thor said firmly. "And therefore it can't have happened. Look, Sif doesn't know why, but this really isn't funny and I'd like you to leave now."

"I don't know this Sif person. My name is Loki and our elders have sent me to ready you for your role..."

"Uh-huh," Thor said, calling Sif's mobile, going straight to voicemail as it always did in office hours. "Look, Sif, well done but you can stop now, OK? Call me back."

Loki stood there, like he was weighing up his options.

"I shall return," he said. "It's vital that you come with me but you are agitated. I will seek advice."

He really was dedicated to the joke, but he left again, at least after crouching next to the little oak tree and whispering something to it, stroking a couple of leaves.

Thor rubbed at his face once he'd gone, probably getting dirt on his cheeks.

Dryads. Forest fairies, right? Tree people. _You're a plant guy_ \- oh, he should have caught that. Apart from how outlandish the story was, he really quire admired the set up. Sending the stranger, this Loki, early in the week, letting him stew with the oddness, knowing he'd be out at the allotment so the two trees could be planted - well, not planted, but left in accessible places - and then it was just a case of Sif staying the night and making the switch in the morning, waiting for just the right moment to scream and wake him.

It was a very elaborate prank. Probably wasn't even over yet. He was probably meant to go into the woods and meet a bunch of amateur actors in glittery wings...

He wasn't totally understanding why Sif had done this. Maybe trying to set him up with someone? This leading man perhaps?

Well, he was attractive, Thor wasn't going to pretend otherwise. Long, dark hair, those eyes - so bright and intelligent, but you'd have to be to improvise scenes like that - tall and lithe. Maybe at another time, he would follow him wherever he wanted to go, if he wasn't being so weird.

He was angrily misting the moth orchids when Sif finally called back.


	4. Chapter 4

"What have I done? What are you so mad about?"

Sif couldn't see him raise his eyebrows incredulously, as if to say "come on, I'm not being fooled by this innocent act" but he did it anyway.

"You really had me going, right up to the dryads," he said.

"The hell is a dryad?"

"I get it! It's very funny. Honestly, swapping the trees to make me think a miracle had happened was a nice touch, but you can call off your friend now. I'll even go on a date with him if that's what you want. Loki, is it?"

"I honestly have no idea what you're on about."

Thor paused for a moment, hesitating. Sif wasn't this good a liar, he didn't think. She'd have laughed by now probably.

"You mean you're not playing an elaborate prank on me?"

"No. Not me."

And there weren't many people who would apart from her... No one, really.

"I swear to God, if you are, I'll never speak to you again."

Empty threat and she probably knew it.

"I swear to God, I'm not."

Well... That changed things a little. That meant it was either some kind of prank show - which was possible, but it seemed unlikely someone would go to this much effort over multiple days - or this Loki guy was potentially really not very well.

"OK," he said. "Sorry. There's just been some weird stuff happening, that's all."

"Has that guy been back?"

Thor considered lying, but then where had the dryad thing come from?

"Yeah, briefly. Said he'd left the miracle tree, said I'm some kind of woodland lord or something, I don't know. I figured it was a joke. Maybe it is, maybe he's some kind of street magician or something."

"Or maybe he's not. Don't let him in again. He might be dangerous."

"I own a shop, Sif. He just comes in like anyone else. I can't exactly get a bouncer. And I don't think he's trouble. He just wants me to go to the woods with him."

"OK, is 'come to a place where I can kill you and bury you in a shallow grave and probably wear your skin' sounding non-dangerous to you? Don't go to the woods with strangers! Didn't your mum ever teach you that?"

Normally that wouldn't both him at all, just an expression, just a figure of speech, not an actual question, but it was all in his head right now and suddenly he couldn't bear talking to her.

"I won't. Don't worry. It's fine. Sorry for accusing you of stuff. Bye."

As if he'd go to the forest with a stranger... He wasn't that trusting.

All the same, what was he going to do? Call the police and say he was being menaced by sprites? Not even menaced, juat approached. And being given presents of trees.

He looked up healthcare pages on delusions. It wasn't very helpful. Nothing about believing you were a nymph.

The whole lost child thing had thrown him too, however much he didn't want to admit it. He didn't much care who his parents were now, but he'd definitely gone through a few crises in his teens about whether they were criminals or victims of trafficking or famous or what.

He was no one's heir though. He was pretty sure about that. Definitely not some kind of forest king, because they didn't exist.

And given that that was true, he really had no excuse for letting it bother him that much.

He got up the next day, showering with sone trepidation. Would Loki come back today? What would he do if he did?

He didn't. The oak tree also didn't suddenly become six feet tall. It was a very normal day, followed by doing his accounts in the evening, stock taking, all the rest of it. Sif said he should get an assistant, but money was tight enough already without trying to pay someone else's wages.

Maybe it had been Sif after all. Maybe she'd been so freaked out by his reaction that she'd called it off and never done the big reveal.

Shame, really. He'd have been relieved to have a few answers rather than just question after question. But at least he got a free tree out of it. He liked the oak. It was strangely comforting to see it when he came downstairs every morning, sitting in the pot, just the same.

It was distinctly less comforting the morning he came downstairs and found it had sprouted acorns overnight.


	5. Chapter 5

Baby oak trees were not meant to grow acorns. Only mature trees did that. And it definitely didn't happen overnight without any blossom or pollination that he'd seen. There tended to be bugs in the shop to an extent, but not enough to grow a whole crop of acorns without any in between stage.

By the next day, they'd started to ripen and fall. Thor collected them in jars, wondering what on earth to do with these strange seeds. He didn't want to throw them away, but there was something distinctly strange about this tree and if it was actually a disorder then he couldn't risk infecting the surrounding area by cultivating them.

It was almost a relief when Loki showed up again, grinning through the window at the acorn jars and practically skipping into the shop. Thor was just glad it was close to closing time. He had a plan now. He just had to find the hole in this story and then it would fall down and there would be a perfectly rational explanation.

"It has begun," Loki announced, an elderly lady taking a step back from him in some alarm.

"Hi, Loki," Thor said gently, not entirely un-convinced that he didn't just have some kind of illness. "I'll be right with you."

It seemed to soothe his customers, letting him finish up his sales while Loki gently picked up the acorns, looking at them like they were the most adorable things in the world.

Thor flipped the sign to closed, trying to stay calm. He should listen carefully but peacefully, prevent any agitation and then gently decline this offer of... woodland kingship or whatever.

"Alright," he said softly. "Alright, explain everything to me. From the beginning. Who exactly do you think I am?"

"You're the son of the dead king and a human woman named Frigga. We need you to come and imbue the forest with life and plant these acorns."

Frigga... Well, it was a nice enough name, but he'd need a bit more convincing before he believed that that was the name of his long-lost mother.

"Right," he said vaguely. "And who are you?"

"Loki. I told you."

"Yeah, but who are you? Where do you come from?"

"The forest is my home."

"So that's... where you were born?"

A smile, amused by all of this. But that was good. He wasn't getting upset.

"I was not born. This body is new to me. The name too, that's new. They said humans prefer it when people have names. I've been sent by our elders to seek you out, help you manifest your powers and bring you home to assist us."

"OK. And afterwards, I can just get on with my life?"

A pause, hesitation.

"Well, we hope you might visit us on occasion."

Thor was still really quite lost. He needed to get to the bottom of what exactly this guy believed he was. What he believed they both were.

Oh, Sif would so tell him off for this...

"Why don't you come upstairs and eat something and explain to me just what exactly is going on?"

It probably wasn't very smart to let this potential murderer into his flat, but he was pretty sure he could win in a physical fight, if it came to that. Loki was skinny and while he moved gracefully, there was a little awkwardness to him too. Like his muscles were stiff.

Loki gravitated to the plants on the windowsill immediately, touching them very gently, utterly fascinated. Thor couldn't believe he was dangerous, given those soft touches. Surely not.

"Can I get you something to drink? Eat?"

"Water, please."

Alright, water. Thor looked longingly at his booze cupboard and decided against it. Better to keep a completely clear head.

Loki took the glass from him carefully, watching him drink and then copying, like he'd never used a glass before. Maybe he had some kind of nerve problem or something that made it difficult.

"Right," Thor said, sitting down on his couch, letting Loki join him. "Right from the beginning. What's a dryad?"

Loki stared at him, glancing to the side, confused.

"You don't know? But it's a human word. I had to learn it. We are tree spirits. We live in the trees. And you're the son of the dryad who inhabited the oldest tree in the forest."

"So... So you think you're a tree?"

A little breath of laughter, barely there but instinctive.

"Don't be ridiculous! I can inhabit any tree grown from the seed of the same... mother trees, I suppose you'd call it. Only the elders are fixed to one. As long as there are trees, there will be dryads. But our king died along with his tree. It was old age, but not exactly expected. We did not have time to prepare. And so, as his child, we need you to come and give life to the forest. Revitalise us."

Thor nodded vaguely, acutely aware of his wooden coffee table, his furniture, little carved sculptures even. Were they offensive?

"So you're not... hurt when trees are cut down?"

"No. We are not trees. We live in them and we share a great deal with them, but lots of animals damage trees, including humans. It's nature. But... Well, we don't exactly like it happening too much."

Why was he even asking? There was no such thing as plant spirits. This was nonsense, it had to be. Time to get to the crux of the matter.

"I'm not a dryad, though," Thor said. "I'm a human."

"Well, yes. Your mother was a human and she fell in love with our king."

"The king who is a tree? Or lived in a tree?"

"Exactly."

Right.

Fine.

He should probably make dinner. Maybe food would help.


	6. Chapter 6

Loki seemed utterly fascinated by his cooking, by the very concept of a gas hob, watching carefully as he heated oil, chopping up onions and green beans.

"You can just make the fire come and go?"

"In here, yes. It's... a machine."

"Mm. It's very convenient."

Yeah. Yeah, it was.

"Are you... vegetarian?" Thor asked. "Vegan?"

"What's that?"

"It's someone who only eats plants. Nothing from animals."

"Oh! No. No, I've eaten lots of animals. I've even eaten human, a long time ago."

Thor's brain did a little skid, like a record scratching.

"You've what, sorry?"

"It would be before you were born. A long time ago. A man fell out of the sky but he died and when things die in the forest, they go into the soil and then the trees eat them and we get nourishment from the trees so in a roundabout way... I think that's what you call it. I've tried eating like a human since having a body, but it's very inconvenient. And so messy afterwards. The water has to come out of you."

Thor's mind refused to move on from the possible cannibalism. Oddly enough, it seemed rather pressing.

"What do you mean, he fell from the sky? People don't do that."

"They did it a lot at that time. Only for a while and then they stopped. With those big strips of cloth."

A big strip of cloth... A parachute maybe? But there hadn't been a lot of parachuting over forests since... Well, since the Second World War probably.

"How old are you?" Thor asked, looking him up and down.

"I don't know."

Think in plant. How would plants think of years?

"How many summers have you seen?"

"Since my seed tree sprouted? Um... I don't know exactly. Maybe ninety. Maybe a few more than that."

"Ninety?" Thor dead-panned. "You're ninety years old? You don't look ninety."

"We made this body from the earth. It looks like a man we used to see. He used to visit the forest. The elders chose me because I've always found humans interesting. I like watching them when they walk through. I learned some of how they spoke, some of their writing, counting. It's still strange, though. You take a lot of maintenance."

Thor tossed in some beansprouts, swirling them round, adding some chicken. Loki was staring at it, his nostrils practically twitching.

"What have you eaten as a human?" Thor asked, playing along even though he was increasingly convinced that this elaborate story was surely about to fall down.

"Not a lot. I've been leaving my body and going back to the trees except when I came to see you. I've drunk from the stream and tried berries that I've seen humans eat, but I don't think they were quite ready. No other creatures were eating them."

Thor fished out a bit of carrot from the pan, letting it cool a little.

"Try this."

Loki took it gently, like he was nervous about the heat, putting it in his mouth and chewing carefully, eyes going wide.

"Mm!"

"Good?"

"Mmhm."

Thor didn't consider himself a particularly good cook, but he enjoyed being appreciated all the same, filling two bowls and returning to his couch. Loki ate like he was ravenous, excited to taste everything.

His delusion really must be very strong. Or he was an excellent actor.

"So this king who you say is my father," Thor said thoughtfully. "How old was he?"

"Hundreds of years old. Maybe a thousand. The oldest tree in the forest."

"But he must have seeded lots of acorns then. Why can't those dryads revitalise the forest? They're his children too."

"They could, but it might kill them. We live our lives very slowly. Humans are much faster than us. You have more concentrated vitality. Your power is immense. You grew the tree downstairs just by being nearby. Imagine what you could do if you concentrated and learned to control it."

Mm. That sort of made sense, among the rest of this bizarre moon logic.

"If he was a dryad, how did he get a human pregnant?"

"Your mother loved the forest. I remember her passing through often, sometimes staying the night beneath canvas. She was very attune to it. The king decided to try courting her. He made a body from the earth and they met. Usually, he simply enjoyed these brief affairs, but this was different. She came back. She learned what he truly was.."

"Wait, hold on. How many human women did he have sex with?"

"I don't know the exact number. Maybe one every thirty summers or so."

"In order to have children who could save the forest?"

"Not specifically. I'm not sure he actually had other human children. Certainly none living. He had relationships with men too with no chance of producing young. I think he just liked it. I understand sex is meant to be enjoyable. I've seen humans do it and they usually seem happy."

Thor knew he'd gone a little red at just the thought. He could imagine that. A couple out in the woods, giggling together, indulging in a risky shag in the forest, the thrill of not being caught, unaware that there were any number of tree spirits watching.

"Is it enjoyable?" Loki asked, conversationally.

"Huh? Uh... Yeah. If you're doing it the right way. But, wait, hang on, so he slept with my mother and she got pregnant..."

"Not the first time. A while later."

Bit too much information...

"Fine, OK, but she has the child - me - and then... She leaves me. Where did she go?"

"She became a tree."

Became a tree. OK.

Thor took a deep breath and a slow exhale.

It was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 7

"So it's magic?"

Thor rubbed his eyes. He was really quite tired, his head full of king dryads and women bearing strange children and being watched by trees and now he was trying to explain how toilets work because otherwise it seemed Loki's plan had been to go outside...

"No, it's not magic," he said.

"But we're so high up. How does the water come back? Is there a spring?"

"It's called plumbing. There are pipes under the ground and they... push water along it and the pressure makes it come up here."

At least, he thought that was how it worked. He'd never really thought too hard about it before.

And he was becoming rather more aware of the fact that he had no idea where Loki was meant to go. He'd probably try to go back to the forest, since he believed that was where he lived. But surely... Well, he must... live somewhere. Maybe family looked after him, maybe he lived in some kind of care facility. Somebody surely kept an eye on him. Though he hadn't mentioned anyone but tree spirits.

He was safe here. No harm would come to him if he stayed overnight. Surely if he didn't return to wherever he lived, whoever he lived with would sound the alarm and in the morning, the local news would have a report and tell him who to contact. That made sense, right?

"My eyes keep closing," Loki said.

"Yeah, it's bedtime. We need to sleep."

"You _need_ to? But you don't need the sun in here. You have your artificial lights."

Thor fetched a blanket for the couch, planning to let Loki have the bed.

"You must have seen animals sleep. Why do you think they do it?"

"I thought they just liked it."

"Well... It is pretty great. Come on. You'll feel better afterwards"

Everything was apparently such a novelty. Changing into different clothes just to sleep - even if it was just some of Thor's old threadbare pyjamas - the softness of the mattress, the concept of a duvet and pillows. That smile when he was tucked in, though... Being safe and warm in bed really was pretty great, Thor thought, turning out the light.

Maybe Loki had some kind of head injury, he mused. Brain damage or amnesia or something, and so he believed he was a ninety-year-old forest creature who had never slept in a bed before. Never slept before ever. That made sense, right? Maybe?

The backstory was intense though. There hadn't been any holes too obvious that Thor had heard so far, apart from this nonsense about his mother becoming a tree. He still didn't understand that. Everything Loki said seemed to be very literal and tree spirits magically becoming human was one thing, but the other way round? Unlikely...

But what was the point of even listening and trying to understand? It wasn't true. It couldn't be true. Deep down, Thor knew he was just playing along with a clearly vulnerable person, trying to look after him.

And, yes, maybe part of him liked the fantasy. Liked the fairytale and the thought that he was different, special. Lots of people wanted that. Maybe it was nice to pretend.

He was really too big to sleep on his couch, but he was also very tired, managing to get a few hours' rest before his phone buzzed under his head, reminding him to get up.

Yawning, he headed for the kitchen, setting his kettle going before a quick shower, coming out with a towel round his waist to find Loki poking at the steam.

"Hey, careful," Thor said. "You'll burn yourself."

Loki turned. And looked. And stared.

Thor felt an urge to cover himself up more fully, very aware suddenly of his bare chest, the drips of water rolling down his arms, his revealed calves. And Loki was not trying to hide his examination. He was openly oogling, even unconsciously biting his lower lip.

"My heart is going fast," he said. "Is that normal?"

"Uh..." Thor said.

He was too stunned to move back as Loki reached out to him, not shy at all but curious, touching his skin, a little gasp of wonder.

OK, no, no, no. Loki was clearly not well and even if he was hot and charming and funny, Thor couldn't ignore the voice of his conscience as it firmly told him that acting on this attraction would be taking advantage.

"Um," he said, carefully pushing Loki's hand away. "Humans don't really... touch each other like that unless they know each other really well. Usually."

Loki withdrew instantly.

"I'm sorry. You looked nice to touch."

It was such simple words, such open desire and Thor found himself having to take deep breaths because it had been nice to be touched, but that wasn't a good path to go down.

He wasn't sure if Loki could handle coffee, making tea instead and leaving him sipping it as he went to get dressed.

His stupid libido had well and truly woken up, looking at the rumpled sheets, the faint smell that he was only just getting to know, the wicked part of his mind saying it would only take a minute to take the edge off...

It was probably a dumb idea, but he could feel that itch beneath his skin, still feel where Loki's fingers had been on his chest, imagining, if his reaction to food had been so enthusiastic, just how much he might like sex.

_"Is it truly so enjoyable? Could you show me?"_

Thor wrapped a hand around his cock, annoyed with himself but doing it anyway.

He'd make him feel so good... He could imagine it so clearly, the look of wonder on his face at finding such pleasure. And he was so open with it too, he'd be so responsive, no weird hang ups, just enjoying himself.

_"Ah! Ah, yes, I like that... Oh, Thor..."_

He cleaned up with a dirty sock afterwards - like he was a teenager again - and despaired over himself as he got dressed. Loki was too innocent for such thoughts. He should just focus on keeping him safe until he found who was meant to look after him and made sure he got home safe.

Maybe they could even stay friends. He enjoyed that boundless imagination, that conversation. He felt like he was seeing the world differently all of a sudden. Noticing the dozens of miracles in his everyday life.

Such as tea...

Loki had successfully poured himself another cup when Thor returned, apparently enjoying it very much. A quick scroll through his news app had no reports of missing people, no one looking a dark-haired man roughly in his early thirties who needed care.

"Would you like to help me in the shop today?" Thor asked. "With the plants?"

"I thought we'd go to the forest."

Hmm...

"Not yet," Thor said. "I'm still not fully convinced."

Loki nodded.

"That's alright," he said. "You have more to learn about your powers first anyway."

Right.

Well, that didn't sound ominous at all.


	8. Chapter 8

Sif opened the door and immediately jumped backwards.

"Uh... Thor?"

"Hello," Loki said. "I'm an assistant. Do let me know if I can help you."

It had been a strange day. Loki was certainly enthusiastic, but he was also a little... intense. More than one customer had been taken aback at being asked every detail of what they intended to do with their plants. And whilst he knew numbers well enough to add and subtract, decimals turned out to be a real problem. There was such a thing as half a forest, that made sense, but not £1.99. He just didn't understand why everything had to be in hundreds.

"Hey," Thor said, knowing she was about to freak out about all of this.

Sif's eyes flicked between them, her jaw set, and when she spoke, her voice was very sweet which was always a bad sign.

"Thor, could I speak to you in the back, please?"

Loki waved to her as she passed. He seemed to enjoy doing things with his hands, moving in general. He liked picking things up, like he was testing his own dexterity.

Sif closed the door very carefully, rounding on him, and Thor did his best to look innocent. This was totally normal and not at all weird.

"What the hell is going on?" she hissed. "Is that him? The forest guy?"

"Yes, it is. Don't freak out."

"Don't freak out?! You've let him in. You've given him a job."

"It's not a job. He's just helping out around the shop. And he's harmless, I promise. Look, he's clearly ill. I'm just waiting for someone to collect him."

"Who?"

"I don't know. His... mum maybe? I can't let him wander off. He thinks he's a tree spirit and he'd try to walk back to the woods and probably die of exposure. Even if he stayed in town, bad stuff could happen to him out there. He could get attacked or something. I'm just keeping him safe."

"And have you reported him? Like... To a hospital or something?"

Uh...

"Well, no, but..."

"Oh, my God," she said, putting her head in her hands. "You like him. You fancy him."

Blood rushed to Thor's cheeks. Seen through immediately. But still, he had good reasons for doing what he was doing. He wanted people who actually knew Loki to collect him, not people from a hospital.

"I don't want to upset him. If strangers come, it might scare him. Someone must be missing him. There will be a report or something and we can do it all calmly and with no unpleasantness. And afterwards, maybe we can stay friends."

"Mm. Friends, is it?"

Thor rolled his eyes. Well, so what? So he fancied an attractive man. That was allowed.

"You're the one who's always telling me to meet people. He's interesting. Look, why don't you have dinner with us? He's weird, but he's not dangerous."

"Dinner? You're feeding him?"

"Of course I'm feeding him! He has to eat. And he's staying in my bed - alone. It's temporary. It's fine."

She evidently thought that it was not fine at all, folding her arms.

"Fine," she said. "But only to make sure he doesn't murder you."

"I find just going along with what he says is the best way. It's outlandish, but there's a logic to it as well. It's honestly quite fun to listen to him talk."

Loki was carefully gathering the day's fallen acorns when they reemerged, placing them into the jars very gently.

"This is my friend Sif," Thor said. "She'll be staying for dinner tonight."

"Hello. You smell nice."

Sif laughed awkwardly. Her perfume was nice, but you weren't meant to just say these things out loud so bluntly.

"Thor said you're staying with him at the moment," she said, all kindness and calm. "Won't they be missing you at home?"

"Maybe, but it's my mission to come and prepare the heir for his role. It's a great honour."

Another one of those looks that told Thor she thought he was handling this extremely poorly.

"What does he have to do?"

"He has to revitalise the forest with his ancestral power and plant new seed trees."

"Uh-huh. And he doesn't have to bleed or anything for this, does he?"

"No. He just has to learn to control the gift."

Thor shrugged when she looked at him. He didn't understand either. It wasn't going to make sense unless you believed that dryads were real and, well, that was ridiculous.

"So you sent the little tree," Sif said. "Is Thor making it grow?"

"He's making all these plants grow. He doesn't know how, but he is."

Well, with water and soil and fertiliser and pest control and sunlight... But he had always had a gift for it too. A knack.

Probably shouldn't think like that. That was getting too close to sounding like he believed all this.

"Who wants tea?" he asked, trying his best to act like this was all normal.

Perfectly normal...


	9. Chapter 9

"So run this by me again," Sif said, curled in one of Thor's armchairs eating pasta. "You think Thor is the son of a king and that's why he has to go with you to the woods. How come his parents live in Wolverhampton then?"

Thor's heart did a little squeeze. Oh, no. Oh, he was either going to have to lie or reveal a secret here...

He'd always meant to tell her the truth. He'd always planned to get round to it, but somehow it just didn't come up. And it really wasn't important. He'd just lied and said that while he'd grown up here and stayed, they'd moved away to, uh, Wolverhampton, sure...

Should he lie? Should he deny it and let her keep believing? But then he'd be lying to Loki who was so much more vulnerable.

Maybe it was a better idea to get it out in the open. Maybe he should do it, at last. It wasn't like he was going to get a more obvious opening.

Loki looked at Thor in surprise, confused.

"No," he said. "No, he was left in a safe place. His mother was very careful. And now she's a tree."

Thor tried to stay calm, saying nothing but getting up and going to the bedroom, dragging a box out of his wardrobe. A life in a little cardboard brick.

"What's that?" Sif asked as he returned.

"I was abandoned as a baby," Thor said quietly. "I don't know who my parents are."

She stared at him and he couldn't meet her gaze, opening the box, finding all those papers from years ago. Vaccination history, school reports, and down towards the bottom...

"This is my birth certificate," he said, holding it out to her. "See? Mother and father unknown. They guessed my birthday."

She looked as though she'd seen a ghost. And then he gave her the newspaper clipping, the story of a baby left outside a hospital, the call for the mother to come forward and be helped, those words that he'd memorised over the years.

_The baby boy is healthy and unharmed. As he was found on a Thursday, he has been named Thor by hospital staff._

"You've never told me this," Sif said. "I never knew."

"I know. I'm sorry. I was going to tell you, but then... I think I lied once when we'd only just met and then it was just easier not to mention it. Honestly, it doesn't matter. I grew up in care, it happens, I'm fine. I don't really think about it."

She didn't believe him, that much was obvious. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he believed himself.

Maybe he'd just told himself that he didn't care often enough that he'd started to believe it, started to convince himself to bury all of those feelings and now they were sprouting out of all that bullshit like mushrooms in a cellar.

"Thor," she said, very serious. "It's OK not to be fine."

"I know, but that's irrelevant because I am fine."

And now she was looking from the birth certificate to him to Loki, who seemed to be quietly waiting for things to start making sense again, and clearly coming to a conclusion.

"You want it to be true," she said quietly. "You want to believe that your parents are tree people."

Thor folded his arms, tilting his head back to gaze up at his ceiling, all bumpy plaster and bad paintwork.

"Maybe I do," he said. "Just a little. For a little while maybe."

He knew it was ridiculous. He did. But maybe, for a bit, it was nice to pretend that he knew who his parents were and that he had a higher purpose and that Loki was a magical being and not a man who would soon have to return to wherever he lived.

Sif looked at him, wiping her eyes quickly.

"Loki," she said. "What can you tell us about Thor's mother?"

"She loved the forest," Loki said. "She would visit often to watch birds and other creatures. And our king liked her and decided to reveal himself to her, as a human at first, and eventually told her the truth."

"And when you say he revealed himself... I mean, I don't think the average woman is happy to meet strange men in the woods."

"She always said hello to people who passed. That was how it began. He would say hello, make some passing comments about the day. Little by little, it became more of a conversation until they would spend hours walking together. He liked talking to her. Not many of us know how to speak the way you do. They spoke and walked together over months and fell in love. He offered her the chance to stay with him and after their son was born and in a safe place, she became a tree."

"A tree, huh? Sounds like a fairy tale."

It did. Thor knew it. And it probably was something like that, some story that Loki thought was real. He couldn't separate it from reality, thought that he remembered it happening. There was that condition, wasn't there? False memory syndrome or something?

"What was her name?" Sif asked, getting her phone out. "What did she look like?"

"Her name was Frigga and she had hair like sunlight."

"Do you know her surname? Her other name?"

Loki shook his head, but she was typing something in anyway.

And then she looked very worried indeed.

"What?" Thor asked. "What is it?"

"Thor, if this is some kind of weird joke, it's really not funny."

Exactly what he'd accused her of. He shook his head, worried now.

"What is it?"

She passed him her phone in answer.


	10. Chapter 10

_Police have today appealed for the public's help in finding a woman reported missing 25 years ago on the anniversary of her disappearance. Frigga Vanheimr, who vanished aged 44, has not been seen since she told colleagues she was going on holiday but failed to return to work as expected after two weeks._

_Ms Vanheimr is described as tall and of slender build with long blond hair and was last seen wearing an oversized jumper and long skirt._

Thor gazed at the woman in the picture on the five-year-old article from an archive news page, an old photo, slightly blurry, and wondered if he was mad to look at her smile and see an echo of his own.

"Is this her?" he asked Loki, holding out the phone so he could see.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, that's how she looked."

He could be lying. He could just be going along with the story. It could be just a coincidence that a woman with the right name went missing around the same time as he was born.

Hell, maybe Loki even knew something about her disappearance but didn't know that was what it was. Maybe he'd heard something about a woman's body in the woods and he'd made it into his story about the trees.

Thor felt strangely sick.

"I've had DNA tests," he said vaguely. "Something would have come up, right? If she was my mother. I mean... They have databases and all that."

"I don't know," Sif said. "Maybe it's different for missing people. And maybe they don't have any DNA for her for whatever reason."

A strange numbness entered Thor's bones, like he wasn't really himself. And he knew why. He'd known this feeling before. It was his brain trying to protect him, trying not to let himself get too overexcited. He'd thought he'd found his parents before and it was never them. He was just setting himself up for disappointment if he got too invested.

"Loki," he said very carefully. "What happened to Frigga's human body?"

"It's in the forest, under the ground. But she's not in it anymore. She's in the tree."

"Can you show us where it is?"

He nodded. He didn't seem to understand quite what he was being asked and Thor figured he had to try to make it clearer, had to at least attempt to help him comprehend just what they were suggesting.

"The humans don't know where she is," he said gently. "And so they're worried that she could be hurt. Could we tell them where her body is, so that they could dig her up and know what happened?"

A concerned look, worried.

"I suppose so," he said. "And I could ask her first. She's different to the rest of us. I think because she was a human. She taught me a lot about the right things to say."

"Thor, can you help me in the kitchen for a moment?" Sif said, getting up. "Alone?"

She turned on the extractor fan, clearly trying not to be overheard.

"What is this?" she asked. "What are we doing? Do you really think this woman is your mother?"

"I have no idea," Thor said. "I don't... I don't know what I think. But there's a missing woman and someone who thinks he knows where she's buried. Maybe someone else knows what happened to her. Maybe they told Loki thinking no one would ever take him seriously because he's not well and really he knows the truth and, in a weird way, he's trying to tell us. And maybe she had had a child and they knew where that child was left and what happened then they read my name and age somewhere and remembered and said that I was the wood woman's son and that's why Loki came to meet me."

"There are a lot of maybes in that hypothesis."

"I know. I know. But even if she's not my mother, if we can find where she's buried, isn't that a good thing? Some closure? Solving a mystery?"

She was wavering, he could see that. There were coincidences here that couldn't quite be explained away easily, even if the story was too outlandish to be completely true.

"If we find nothing then we find nothing," he said. "No loss. Just a walk in the woods."

"But if we find something..."

She took a deep breath, running her hands back through her hair.

"This is mad, you do know that?" she said. "I have no idea what's going on with you right now. So as your friend, I think it's my duty to come with you and make sure you don't do anything stupid."

As if she'd ever managed that before...

"You need to do more research first though," she said. "Find out all you can about this Frigga Vanheimr. Dig up all the old articles. Maybe she's already been traced. And promise me you'll try to find out where Loki came from. He can't have just sprung out of the ground."

She was right, he knew it.

Even if he really did want to keep the fairy tale alive, just for a while longer.


	11. Chapter 11

Sif had agreed - in principle, at least, and she kept stressing that things might change depending on what Thor managed to find out - that she would drive them to the forest the following Sunday, on their usual allotment day.

In the meantime, Thor was to do the research he'd promised he would, looking into Frigga Vanheimr. Who was she? Had anyone ever found any sign of her?

He'd worried at first that she'd been lonely. She wasn't married or in a relationship, had no family according to most reports. But she'd also had a vibrant social life according to all the articles he'd read. She was in a number of clubs. She had a lot of hobbies. She volunteered for charity. She led nature walks. People quoted as friends said she was kind and that they missed her and that this disappearance was very out of character.

Should he try to contact them? Should he ask them if... if she'd ever mentioned a boyfriend or anything?

Surely she couldn't have been pregnant. They'd have said if she was. Someone would have known, surely. It was a difficult thing to hide.

On balance, he decided that he couldn't call up these nice people and stir up emotions about a friend they'd mourned years ago and ask if she could have lied to them. It was thirty years ago. Some of these people were in their sixties and seventies, even eighties maybe. It would be cruel to call them on a hunch.

Who else could help?

Thor found himself on a forum for the families and friends of missing people, feeling like a fraud as he read through it. Loki was curled up next to him on the couch, watching a documentary about rainforests with undisguised wonder.

They should probably get him some clothes that actually fit one of these days rather than borrowing Thor's...

At least there was a comforting voice washing over him as he signed up and spent the best part of an hour crafting what he wanted to say.

_Hi, everyone. I'm hoping for some advice._

_I grew up in care and have never known the identity of my parents. I recently learned of a missing person who may be related to me. Is there anywhere I can try to check via DNA testing? Should I try the police?_

_I realise this is a weird case, but I'd be grateful for any help._

He got a few welcome messages for his first post, some general encouragement, but little else at first.

"Thor," Loki said thoughtfully. "Do you see things when you sleep?"

"Hmm?"

"Last night, in my sleep, I was back in the forest. Only I wasn't. You were there too. Is that normal?"

"Oh... We call that dreaming. It's totally normal, don't worry."

There was a pause for a while, the documentary talking about tree frogs or something.

"Why does it happen?" Loki asked. "What is it for?"

"I don't know. I think it's just the brain recovering overnight from the day."

Loki sighed, stretching, leaning on Thor's shoulder.

"There's so much about humans that I don't understand. You have so many feelings, so many thoughts all the time. I'm used to that, but having it all in your body too is a lot."

Yes. Yes, it was. And right now, Thor's stomach was churning with worry and nerves and the deep fear that despite his best efforts, he was letting himself get carried away with this ridiculous fairy tale.

There were no dryads. There was no such thing. There was no spirit waiting for him in the woods. The best outcome would be finding human remains and solving a mystery and Loki going back to his people to be safe.

"Can I use the rain shower?" Loki asked.

"Of course. You don't have to ask."

In fact, it would give him a chance to make an important phone call without being overheard.

His heart pounded as he heard the line ringing, pacing in front of his window.

"Hello, you're through to Missing You. Can I help you?"

"Er... Hello. I'm... I've seen a guy around recently and he seems quite vulnerable. I just wanted to check no-one's missing him."

"Alright. Can you describe him?"

"He's around thirty. White. Six foot tall. Dark hair. He calls himself Loki."

He could hear her typing. Checking databases. Probably nationwide. He didn't know where Loki had come from.

"Hmm. No, I don't see anyone matching that at the moment, but I'll keep your flag on record."

"OK. Well, I'll try to keep an eye on him."

"That's kind of you."

Thor didn't know what to say to that. Was it kind? Really he ought to be doing far more to get Loki help. But he liked having him around. He enjoyed his company. Ultimately, he didn't want him to leave.

"Thank you," he said. "Bye."

He heard the water shut off as he made some herbal tea, something for sleep, Loki emerging in a cloud of sweet-smelling steam.

"Are you comfortable sleeping on the couch?" he asked.

"Of course," Thor said, spoon clinking off the sides of the cup.

"Only I've napped on it and I don't think it's so comfortable. And there's room in the bed. Space for two people."

Yes. Yes, there was.

"I feel bad taking your room," Loki said, taking the cup from him. "Can't we share?"

That was a bad idea. Thor knew it was a bad idea.

But he was missing his bed. Actual room to stretch out... It sounded good. Really good. And nothing would happen. They'd only sleep.

"We could try, I suppose," he said.


	12. Chapter 12

Thor tried his best not to be too visible to Loki as he changed, turning his back, pulling on some jogging bottoms rather than just sleeping in his boxers as usual.

There was definitely a little sound behind him as he bent over though. Something like a sigh, an involuntary sound of excitement.

Right. Lights off. Under the covers. Keeping a nice bit of distance between them.

Stretching out really was good though. It felt like lying on a cloud after how cramped the couch was.

"Goodnight," he said. "Sleep well."

It quickly became apparent that Loki was a blanket thief. But that was alright. It was hardly cold after all. And Thor was lying awake anyway, wondering about things.

They'd go to the woods and ask Loki to take them to Frigga's body and then what? Call the police and tell them they knew where a body was? That was probably the best thing to do. And then they'd come in and find her.

Of course, that was assuming she was there to find. There were no guarantees. They might be about to waste a lot of people's time.

And then, if she was there, he'd have to try to get a DNA test, he supposed. Find out if she was his mother. No guarantees there either, and he'd likely never learn who his father really was.

Really, in the back of his mind, he was a little afraid that his father - whoever he was - had killed her. Forced her to give up her child and murdered her. The alternative was that she just hadn't wanted him. Which was her right, of course, but that didn't mean he couldn't be upset about it. It was difficult not to feel a little rejected.

It was probably nothing. She probably wasn't his mother. She probably wasn't even in the forest.

The soft mattress eventually soothed him to sleep, waking up to find a pair of green eyes gazing at him, an arm across his chest, a hand over his heart.

He didn't like the way his eyes involuntarily flicked down when Loki wet his lips with a deft flash of tongue.

"Hey," he mumbled.

Loki took a deep inhale and then lunged forward, clumsily pressing their mouths together, clutching at him, and for a moment, it would be the easiest thing in the world to let him, to give in.

But he couldn't. He shouldn't do that.

"Hey," he said more urgently, holding Loki back. "Hey, stop."

Loki sighed and slumped.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I just wondered what it was like. But you don't feel the same thing that I feel."

Thor groaned, rolling onto his back.

"It's not that," he said. "I do feel that way. I'm attracted to you, but I don't think we should do this."

"Why not? If you want to and I want to, then why not?"

How to word this without being offensive?

"Because... because you don't really know what you're asking for."

"I do. I want to know what it feels like. I've been curious before, but now I really want it. And I want it to be you."

Thor rolled back towards him, laying a hand on his cheek.

"You're... very innocent, Loki," he said. "You don't know about this. And I don't want to take advantage of you."

"I am ninety years old. More than that. I've seen humans together. Sometimes a lot more than two of them. I know what it is. I know that it's messy and loud. I understand that it might be painful."

"I wouldn't let it. But you only understand the physicality. It can be emotionally intense too. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Can't I decide to take that risk?"

Thor wavered. He felt himself waver. And Loki shuffled towards him, watching his face, glancing down at his lips like he could hardly bring himself to hold back.

Thor hesitated, right on the precipice.

"No sex," he said firmly. "But maybe we could try something like it."

"To begin with," Loki said hopefully.

"Maybe."

He ran his hand carefully over Loki's shoulder, up to his face, leaning in to brush their lips together. Gentle. Careful.

Loki sighed and tried for more, surging forwards, pushing until Thor felt it was best to roll him on top, still trying to take things slow.

It was difficult. His body was reacting very favourably to having an attractive man straddling him, his hands on warm flesh, Loki letting out strange sounds. Good sounds though.

Eventually, Thor stopped fighting, parting his lips, letting Loki kiss him. It was a little like he was being devoured, sloppy and uncoordinated, but strangely exciting along with that. This was instinctive. Purely born of desire.

Thor ran his hands over Loki's back, up under the t-shirt hanging from his slender frame, not intending to remove it but not really having a choice in the matter as Loki yanked it over his head.

The first thought that entered Thor's head was that Loki was beautiful.

The second was that he'd definitely gone too far.


	13. Chapter 13

His hands flowed up Loki's ribs, feeling him breathe, thumbing over his nipples and trying to keep his mind more or less clear as Loki arched his back, exhaling very quickly.

"That feels good," he said. "Ooh..."

He was already rolling his hips, distinctly hard within his borrowed boxers, tugging at Thor's shirt, greedy to touch him.

Well, it was only fair, Thor figured, sitting up so that Loki was in his lap and pulling it off, chest to chest, Loki writhing and panting. He was clearly managing to find some friction, clinging to Thor's shoulders for leverage.

Thor tried to help, trying to find a good angle, moaning as Loki's motions rubbed against his erection. He was almost frantic, instinctive.

"Thor..."

"It's OK. You're alright. You're so beautiful like this."

"Mm... I feel strange. Something's... Oh, something's happening."

"Keep going. Chase that feeling."

"I can't..."

He was out of breath, his eyes wide, pupils huge and dark, trying to finish with stuttering thrusts of his hips.

"That's alright," Thor said. "I'll help you."

He tipped Loki backwards, pulling off his shorts, his cock springing free, beautiful and pink. Thor was about to wrap his lips around it when he realised that might give Loki ideas, using his hand instead.

Loki keened, head almost off the edge of the bed, gripping the sheets but also trying to lean up and look, to watch as Thor stroked his cock, fast and hard.

"Ohh... Oh, Thor!"

"Come on, Loki. You're nearly there."

"Keep going, keep going... Mm!"

He spilled all over Thor's hand, moaning and panting, cheeks flushed and so, so beautiful.

Thor crawled over him, kissing him gently, easing him more firmly onto the bed.

"How was that?" he asked.

"Again... Oh, again..."

Thor chuckled against his skin.

"You might need to wait a bit," he said. "Your body needs to recover first."

"But can we, again? It felt so good."

"After work, OK?"

Loki didn't argue, almost visibly floating in the afterglow.

"And that wasn't sex?" he asked. "Is sex even better than that?"

"Sometimes," Thor admitted. "It depends."

A grin spread across his face.

"Then I definitely want to try sex," he said, eyeing the bulge in Thor's joggers. "And you are still firm."

"I'll deal with it, don't worry."

A slow blink, an expectant look.

"I want to watch. And help. I want to make you feel good too."

That shouldn't sound so enticing... But it was fair. Thor shimmied out of his clothes, Loki staring at him, biting his lip as he knelt up, reaching for him eagerly.

"Be gentle," Thor said. "I'll show you."

Loki found the rhythm very quickly, gazing down at him in wonder.

"I did that to you," he said softly. "I made your body do this."

"Yeah."

"Because I'm beautiful. You want me."

That sounded like a dangerous thing to admit, but at the same time it was true.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Hmm."

Thor couldn't hold off for long, coming with a grunt, Loki seeming surprised if anything. And smug. He was evidently very pleased with himself, crawling up Thor's body for more kisses.

Oh, it was difficult to get out of bed and wash and get dressed for the day. And Loki didn't exactly understand social norms. This was potentially embarrassing.

"Um..." Thor said over their coffee. "Humans don't really talk about sex that much."

Loki looked confused.

"You talk about it all the time," he said.

That was true, to be fair.

"In general, yes, but not specific, personal aspects. Not unless you know the person you're talking to really well. So... So you shouldn't tell anyone that we've... done that."

He felt awful saying that. He already felt like a gross pervert for even thinking of Loki in that way. But then again, it wasn't like he wasn't expressing himself clearly. He was a consenting adult. He knew what he wanted and he wasn't afraid to ask for it. He just... saw the world differently to most people. That didn't mean he didn't have sexual desires.

Or maybe he was justifying this to himself a little too hard...

"I understand," Loki said. "It's private. Like a secret."

"Exactly."

A grin, the skin around his eyes crinkling.

"What?" Thor asked.

"I like having a secret with you."

That shouldn't have been as nice as it was, but Thor couldn't resist a smile. If only he could keep his dryad friend a secret forever.

What a shame that probably wasn't possible.


	14. Chapter 14

New leaves had sprouted all over the small oak, the trunk seeming thicker than ever.

"What does this mean?" Thor asked, gathering up more acorns before opening the shutters.

"I'm not really sure," Loki asked. "I think it might be reacting to your emotional state. You're happy so it grows more perhaps."

Thor had heard a lot of tips for encouraging growth down the years. Talking to plants, singing to them... He'd never heard about being happy at them.

And besides, he wasn't happy. Not exactly. He was more anxious. And letting Loki push their relationship in a particular direction was not helping. He felt sure that at any moment some social services person was going to arrive and whisk Loki away to be looked after far from his enabling influence.

What if he was making Loki's delusions worse by not challenging them? Was that possible? Or was it better to let him believe what he did? At least he was calm and happy.

"So when we go to the forest, if I'm happy then it will be renewed?" he asked.

"It might be more complex than that," Loki said. "The elders will help us when you're ready. If you concentrate, you'll be able to find the power within yourself."

Thor wasn't completely buying this. And on a wet day, not many people were looking for garden supplies or plants. They sold a couple of bouquets, but not much beyond that. It gave him a lot of time to think.

"I'm not sure I have any power, Loki," Thor said gently in the late afternoon. "And even if I do, I don't know how to tap into it."

Loki looked at him, all concern, slightly watery eyes. There was a little smile playing around his lips though.

"I can hardly imagine you not being sure," he said. "You always seem to know what you're doing. You were sure about plants when you made them your life. About the shop."

"That's different. I know how shops work. I don't know how this works at all."

He watched as Loki picked up one of the jars of acorns, turning it and then pulling a specific one right from the middle.

"This one is strong," he said, placing it in Thor's hand and closing his fingers around it. "Try to make it grow."

Right. OK. Well, he was going to show willing, closing his eyes and trying to think growing thoughts. What was it like to grow from an acorn? He tried to think of germination, of the right combination of warmth and moisture that made a viable seed awaken and sprout. He imagined growing a stem and leaves, roots seeking a secure hold in the ground, drinking from the depths of the earth, feeding on sunlight, every fibre of his being absorbing nourishment.

He opened his hand. An acorn. Just an acorn. No change.

What had he expected really? Did he think it would have sprouted in his hand instantly?

Sighing, he set it down next to the till, worried that Loki would be disappointed in him.

"What if it's not me?" he asked. "What if I'm not the heir you're looking for?"

The thought clearly hadn't so much as entered Loki's head. He laughed, but there was some force to it, like he was hiding his real feelings.

"You are, though," he said firmly. "You're the right age. You are a lost child. The trees feel your presence. All plants, in fact. Why else are your blooms always so good?"

Because he took care of them. Because he knew which soils were right, which fertilizers, how much water, how much sunlight, all those things. Not because he was magic.

What would happen when he inevitably disappointed Loki? Or would he just see nature taking its course and proclaim that it had worked?

Somehow Thor was absolutely desperate not to disappoint him. Part of it was a protective instinct, not wanting to see his world crumble without the proper support, and another part was that it was nice to have someone think you were special.

He really, really liked that feeling and he couldn't help wondering if Loki would still look at him with such affection if he was just a guy who owned a middling florist's and not king of the woods.

Would he leave? Would he insist on trying to go back to the forest?

"Loki, you know how you said you live in the trees," he said. "How does that work?"

"My spirit leaves this body and goes into the tree. I could show you, if you want."

"How?"

Loki gestured at the oak tree.

"It's small, but it can handle it. It's grown from an ancestor tree. It's like a cousin of my seed tree."

"And can you only live in trees you're... related to?"

"I could live in others. It's just easier, you know? Like... familiar. But I don't think I should do it when other humans could come in. It might scare them."

Well, that was worrying. Was he going to induce a fit or something?

If Thor closed up a few minutes early, no one needed to know. He drew the shutters down over puddles and the faint reddish glow of the street lights just waking up.

Loki lay down on the floor, like he was going to go to sleep right there, and Thor quickly took off his sweatshirt to give him a makeshift pillow.

"Is this going to be dramatic?"

"No," Loki said. "But you might still get scared. Don't worry. I'll be fine."

He closed his eyes, letting out a long exhale.

And then nothing. Thor waited for something to happen, but nothing did.

"Are you in the tree now?" he asked, feeling ridiculous saying it out loud.

No response. Frowning, Thor knelt beside him, finding his skin cold to the touch. Freezing.

Starting to feel a little more worried, Thor tried to find a pulse in his neck and wrist, wishing he knew more about how to do this.

"Loki? Loki?"

Shit. What the fuck had happened? Had he... died? Right here on the floor? How?

Could he be faking this somehow?

He lifted Loki's eyelids, finding his pupils wide and unresponsive, all the signs of death that he'd learned from TV, panic really starting to set in, feeling sick, feeling faint almost.

And then Loki took a breath. Not a gasp, not a shudder, just a gentle inhalation and then groaning and coughing.

Thor pulled him into his arms, patting his back, trying to calm down a little. What the hell was that? How?

"Takes a bit for my body to work again, but I'll be fine," Loki said between coughs.

"How did you do that? Why was your body... like that?"

"I left it and went into the tree."

He said that like it made sense. Like it was possible to just stop being a solid being.

"Were you scared?" Loki asked.

"Yeah," Thor said, not giving himself enough time to try to be macho and brave about it. "Yeah, I was."

"I'm fine. I promise. We should go upstairs and eat something I think."

It took him a while to stop feeling nervous that Loki was about to drop to the floor at any moment.

What a terrifying talent to have.


	15. Chapter 15

"What's it like, not having a body?"

Loki seemed to have suffered no ill effects from whatever it was he'd done to himself, bopping quite happily along to Radio 2. He liked music, but he claimed to have no knowledge of even the most classic of classic pop, songs that Thor felt like he'd been born knowing. Things like _Don't You Want Me_ and _December 1963_ and _Here Comes the Sun._

"It's different," Loki said. "It's almost like what thinking is like. There's no boundary at such, no physical presence, but at the same time I can't go beyond the trees. I can flit from one to the other, but I couldn't leap to the forest from here. It's almost like I need to see the tree, even though I don't normally have eyes. It's... It's hard to explain."

He could say that again.

"Was that what Frigga did? Like you downstairs?"

He was determined not to refer to her as his mother. She might not be. Probably wasn't. Might not be in the forest. Might not even exist.

There had been responses to his forum post. They mostly said not to bother with the police, that they wouldn't help. A few suggested the services of a psychic. Which, scoff as he might, wouldn't be the weirdest thing in his life right now.

"I think it was more complicated for her. Being born in a body rather than springing to life from a tree... I don't really understand how, but she let her body go to be with the one she loved."

"What, she just lay down and... died?"

"Her body died. Her spirit didn't."

Thor tried to understand what exactly Loki was trying to tell him.

"So she... She's still there? Could I talk to her?"

"Maybe, if I helped. She could tell me what she wanted to say."

That made sense, seeing as she didn't have a mouth through which to speak, but at the same time, Thor was a little skeptical. Loki could say whatever he wanted - whatever he believed he was hearing - and just say that. There was no way that Thor could prove it was real.

Why was he even entertaining the idea that talking to a dead woman in a tree was true?

"You said that after work we could do the not sex thing again," Loki said, shaking him out of his thoughts.

"Slow down!" Thor laughed. "At least let's have a bit of romance first."

"Alright. What's that?"

"Well, it's... It's showing care in a different way. Like... eating together and talking and stuff."

"We already do those things."

"I know, but it's different. Like my father, he didn't just jump straight to... sex. You should spend time together first and talk and... It makes it better."

Loki didn't seem totally convinced, but he let Thor take him to the couch and put his arm round him, not quite proper cuddling since they were eating, but that would come soon enough.

"Tell me about... I guess not your childhood, but when you first were alive."

"Why?"

"Because I'm interested. In you. In your life."

Shuffling slightly to be more comfortable, Loki chewed thoughtfully.

"Not all trees have dryads," he said. "I don't know why some do and some don't. It's strange, isn't it, being alive? You're just kind of there suddenly, having to learn everything. I thought I was the tree for a while, but in time I learned that we were two living things. Relying on one another. I lived within it and protected it from certain threats. My life force helped it and its helped me."

"A symbiotic relationship. You need it and it needs you."

"Something like that. After a few years, I understood more about what was around me. Other dryads. And we could communicate. It's hard to explain. It's not like talking, not really, it's more like... signals. You just understand. The forest is all connected and so are we."

Thor had read something years ago about the research going on into whether and how trees communicated. There were connections underground, root crossings, and it was proven that trees could share carbon and nutrients and beneficial fungus with one another. It wasn't the same as talking, not really, but there was something spooky about the thought.

"I could move anywhere through the forest," Loki said, smiling. "Tree to tree, root to the smallest new bud. I enjoyed watching moving life particularly. Flying with the birds from branch to branch, slipping into the earth with badgers and foxes. But I think I liked humans best. They made so little sense to me."

"In what way?"

Thor finished eating and put his bowl on the floor, really able to cuddle in, idly stroking Loki's hair.

"They didn't live there. Sometimes they would stay overnight, but they didn't live there. And they had so many different purposes. You had younger ones who seemed to spend days not doing much but talking and you had mixed groups who would stride through, and some who would come and be very quiet and watch all the life in there, just like me. I asked the elders about it and they told me that these humans loved the forest, loved the trees. I guess I started to love them back. Especially when I started to understand some of them better."

"Yeah? Like what?"

Loki moved like a cat, shuffling round until his head was in Thor's lap, all the better to let him run his fingers over his scalp.

"I thought I understood, but I didn't really. A body is so strange. Wonderful, but strange. I mean... How do you cope with smelling things all the time? Sometimes it's nice, but sometimes there's just so much... On the whole, I like having a body though."

"I mean, they're not all they're cracked up to be sometimes. You've not had the flu yet, or a paper cut or stubbed your toe."

"I've kissed though. I never understood why humans did that, but now... Now I think I do."

Thor kept his fingers moving, knowing that Loki was probably about to make a move in his clumsy way, carried away on this fantasy of trees and incorporeal beings.

"Yeah," he said vaguely. "I guess it must look strange from the outside."

Loki half sat up, looking at him.

"Feels good from the inside, though," he said.


	16. Chapter 16

Oh, no. Kisses were pretty great, even though Loki definitely had no idea what he was doing. It wasn't skilled, but it was certainly enthusiastic. It was reassuring to feel how much Loki wanted him, even if he was still nervous about all this.

Still, there were things they could do that were for Loki's pleasure. That made him more comfortable. It felt less skeevy somehow.

At present, though, Loki only seemed to want to straddle his lap, warm and perfect, holding his face in both hands for those unwieldy smooches.

Thor let him explore, running hands greedily over his arms and shoulders, eventually letting out a little grunt.

"I like it more when you're not wearing a shirt."

"Oh, really?"

"Mm... Take it off."

Thor was tempted to tease him, to refuse playfully, but he wasn't sure Loki would understand that, pulling off his T-shirt instead, practically feeling Loki's gaze on him.

And then he yelped as Loki ran a finger up his side.

"That tickles!"

"What?"

"Like... You don't know what tickling is?"

"No. Show me."

He wasn't expecting the shriek of laughter he'd get from just the tiniest rub of his fingers under Loki's arm, squirming away to the other side of the couch.

"Oh, I don't think I like that."

"I'm sorry," Thor said, kissing him gently. "It's a reflex. Just another weird quirk of the human body."

"But why? Why does it do that?"

"Absolutely no idea. But I promise I won't do it deliberately."

It was more than a little gratifying that Loki clearly trusted him, swinging his leg back over his thighs, resting his arms on his shoulders, a loose embrace.

Oh, he liked this. He liked it a lot. He liked that Loki so clearly believed that he'd never intentionally hurt him or make him uncomfortable. He liked knowing that he wouldn't.

And yet that horrible thought kept entering his head that no matter how much Loki said he wanted this, no matter how much they both desired one another, Loki was potentially a very unwell person. Could he consent properly when he seemed to see the world so strangely? He didn't think he'd had a body until very recently. Could he therefore consent to things happening to that body? Did he understand?

What if some carers suddenly came out of the woodwork? What if they were looking for him right now? What would they think when Loki told them about his... boyfriend? Lover?

_This is Thor and he indulged my potentially dangerous delusions and also we've had sex kind of..._

"Hey," Loki said, holding his face. "I can see you thinking. And therefore I think you're thinking about something that isn't me."

"Sorry," Thor said. "I was thinking about you though. I just worry about you."

"Why?"

What was the gentlest way of putting this?

"Well, you've never done this before. It can be... intense. I just want you to be safe."

"We know this. You'll keep me safe."

Oh, dear...

"But we'll go slowly, OK?" Thor said. "I want you to be absolutely sure."

With a bit of difficulty, he picked Loki up, using all the strength he'd gained over years of pushing wheelbarrows and installing water features and lugging around bags of soil to carry him to the bedroom, laying him carefully on the bed.

"Mm..." Loki said, settling himself on the pillow. "I think I like where this is going."

He was so beautiful, just watching, waiting for enjoyable things to happen and Thor desperately wanted to please him, reaching for the waistband of his trousers.

"I'm gonna suck your cock, OK?" he said, finding it so unsexy to say it out loud like that.

"I've seen humans do that. Hiding among the trees."

He'd been hard for a while, Thor knew from feeling the pressure against his lap, but it was still quite gratifying to see it, his mouth practically watering as he knelt on the end of the bed.

"Ready?" he asked.

Loki grinned down at him, arching his hips upwards in a way that almost made him groan with desire.

"Ready."

Gentle. Little by little. Thor sucked just the head to start off, laving it with his tongue as Loki gasped above him.

"Mmm... Mm, that feels nice. You're so warm inside."

He didn't know the half of it, Thor felt, starting to suck properly, taking more of his length, bobbing his head, humming slightly to give him that sensation too.

Loki whimpered and he looked up with some alarm. Had he hurt him? Had he caught him with his teeth?

"You OK?"

"I can feel it's close to ending and I don't want it to end..."

Oh, sweetheart...

"But afterwards, we can have cuddles and go to sleep..."

He watched Loki wrestle with himself, eventually nodding.

"Alright. Yes. Keep going."

Well, Thor could maybe make it last a little longer.

He teased. He would go so far and then back off, he'd use little licks to make Loki squirm, and then take as much as he could jusr to hear him gasp.

Probably should have known that Loki wouldn't warn him that he was about to come, getting a bit of a surprise, but somehow not really minding. Not when Loki was reaching for him, desperate for kisses, overwhelmed.

"You alright?" Thor asked.

"It's... Oh..."

"Yeah. That's why I want to be careful."

Despite Loki wanting to try other techniques to make things mutual, Thor managed to convince him to use his hand, the two of them falling asleep in a warm tangle of limbs.

It was perfect until his phone rang, waking them into bright morning light.

"Hello?"

"It's me," Sif said. "I'm outside. Where are your shovels?"


	17. Chapter 17

Pushing Loki towards the shower, Thor buzzed Sif in while hurriedly pulling on some of his work clothes. Stuff that wouldn't mind getting a but grubby. Did he smell obviously of sex? Did the flat?

He opened a window.

"Morning," she said, coming in. "I take it you're not ready to go yet?"

"Be about ten minutes. Want a coffee? Tea? Anyway, why would we need shovels?"

"I'll have tea if you're making some. Isn't it obvious? We go in there, Loki takes us to where this body is meant to be and we dig, right?"

"I mean... I thought we'd maybe tell someone, get some sniffer dogs in or something..."

"Even if they listened to us out of nowhere - doubtful - I have no intention of being convicted of wasting police time if it's nothing. And, I mean, it will be nothing. We're not seriously entertaining the idea that we're going to find anything, are we?"

"No," Thor said, flicking the used tea bags into his compost collector. "No, you're right."

"Thanks," she said, taking a mug from him. "What's the thing on your countertop downstairs, by the way?"

"What thing?"

"Downstairs. There's a plant next to your till."

A strange sick feeling slithered into Thor's belly as he heard the water shut off and then the distinct sound of Loki brushing his teeth. He wasn't sure Loki fully understood the concept of oral hygiene but he certainly liked the sensation of minty freshness, taking deep breaths afterwards to feel the chill.

"Oh, yeah," Thor said, hoping he sounded relaxed. "It's one of my acorns to plant. You know. To show willing."

He was very grateful that Loki emerged from the bathroom fully dressed.

Sif nudged him pointedly. OK. He was meant to say something, evidently.

"Hey, Loki, so we're going to go to the forest today."

"I know. I'm excited. They'll have missed me."

Another nudge. Right. Yes.

"Can you show us where Frigga's body is? And can you ask her if... if it's OK that we dig it up? I'm sure her friends will be worried about where she is. Her human friends."

"And, uh... Don't be disappointed if we don't find anything," Sif said.

Thor tried to remind himself that she was probably right. They would probably just dig a hole, find nothing. Come home. Try to... find out exactly where Loki had really come from and help him get back there.

Easy.

Loki took charge of the newly sprouted oak as they put two shovels into the boot of Sif's car.

"I've never travelled in one of these before," Loki said. "I've seen them, of course."

"How did you get to and from the forest?" Thor asked.

"I walked."

Five miles there and back. Doable, but a long walk. And besides, how had he known where to go? How had he found him?

The more Thor thought about it, the more obviously completely ridiculous it was to believe it. Not that he did believe it, obviously. As he helped Loki with his seatbelt, he was still working on a hypothesis that he knew something about a murder and that it had all got tangled up in his mind with these bits of fairy tales.

Shop fronts gave way to suburban houses and then to the outskirts of town as they drove further and further out, into scrubland and rolling hills and occasional individual house and then the forest loamed into view.

Thor wasn't sure what emotion he was feeling. Nervous, he supposed.

Loki rushed over to the nearest tree the moment he was out of the car, touching its trunk gently, murmuring.

"Is this even allowed?" Sif asked as the got out the shovels and a little backpack with waterbottles and snacks. "Will the... forest people be angry with us? And I mean the woodland commission, not the spirits."

"We're just going to dig a little hole," Thor said. "It's not like we're setting fires or anything. No one will know, probably."

"They're all so excited to meet you," Loki called over. "They're happy you're here."

Thor wasn't sure how to react to that, waving, saying hello.

"Is Frigga there?" he asked. "Can we ask her?"

"She mainly stays in her seed tree," Loki said. "But we can go to her. Maybe after we've planted this."

On the edge of the forest, where it would get plenty of light, Thor dug down a few inches and carefully nestled the roots of the new sapling in the earth. God, he hoped it didn't have some kind of communicable disease...

Loki led the way, under the canopy, the wind making the leaves seem to whisper. Sometimes he'd pause, touch a tree, close his eyes like he was listening. And then he'd laugh or he'd sigh happily before moving on.

"Thor," Sif said softly. "This feels... weird."

"I know. He's harmless though. Maybe this will help him."

"No... No, not that. I feel like I'm being watched."

Maybe Thor knew what she meant. There was a faint prickle on the back of his neck. Like an itch.

Loki led them deeper and deeper into the woods, off the path, getting darker and darker, and then suddenly a clearing of sorts. There was an enormous tree in the middle, its trunk several metres in diameter, but with no leaves.

"This was your father's tree," Loki said. "He's going back to the forest now."

Thor felt drawn to it, reaching out to the dry trunk, starting to rot and be eaten by hundreds of tiny creatures and fungi. The circle of life. Such an old tree, though, such huge thick boughs, marks of old storms and teenagers' graffiti.

"Where's Frigga?"

It was very nearby. A much smaller tree, maybe ten or eleven metres high, not as broad as most others around it. Loki laid a hand upon it, going quiet, like he was listening.

"She wants you to talk to her," he said.

Thor hesitated.

"Um... Hello," he said awkwardly. "Uh... Loki said that you're my mother. I've tried to learn about you, about your life. And... Well, I'm not sure I'm totally convinced yet. I mean, it's a lot to take in. I'm sure you understand. So we were wondering if we could look for your body, please? For DNA. And to give your human friends some closure. They miss you. Would you mind?"

Loki kept his eyes closed. Listening.

"She wants to know if the young lady is your girlfriend."

"What? Oh, er, no. This is my best friend, Sif."

"Hi," Sif said, with a face that suggested she couldn't believe that she was actually talking to a tree...

Loki was quiet for a long time. And then he took a deep inhale, like he'd forgotten to breathe for a while.

"I had to explain a few things," he said. "But she doesn't mind what happens to her body. She says her spirit is in the forest now. And she wants you to promise you'll fulfil your destiny once you have this proof."

"Of course," Thor said. "Of course I will. But you must know how difficult this is."

"She's very sympathetic," Loki said. "But you will find her bones beneath your feet."

Sif jumped backwards a bit, looking distinctly worried for all her talk of not believing. And Thor tried to remain pragmatic.

"Thank you," he said, coming forward to touch the tree. "I'm looking forward to getting to know you."

He returned to Sif, lined up his shovel, and cut through the moss to the earth below.


	18. Chapter 18

Digging was hard work. Thor took off his fleece jacket after a while, doing most of the work. Sif clearly got some blisters on her hands fairly early on from the rough wooden handle, still trying to help but not managing very well.

"How far down should we be looking?" Thor asked, a bit out of breath.

Their panting and the crunch of metal on earth echoed a little while Loki listened.

"She says they dug a grave for her body so she wouldn't have to watch herself decay. Maybe four feet down. And you'll find her spade too. She's holding it like a shield, she says."

"How did she... Uh.. How did she get buried then?" Sif asked. "She can't have pulled the earth back in."

"Thor's father covered it."

Four feet was really quite deep. The ground kept giving way somewhat, falling back into the hole. Sif stopped for a breather, drinking some of her water while Thor kept going. It was almost a compulsion now. He had to keep going, he had to know...

And then the blade of his shovel clanged on something. Something metal.

Jumping down into the hole, he clawed his way down. A spade head. Rounded and metal, lying flat in the earth.

Maybe he could pry it out...

With a degree of effort, he managed to get a grip on it with his fingertips, orange rust staining his skin, straining a little with the remaining earth covering it and then beneath...

"Sif," he said urgently.

Her shadow fell across him, a faint thunk as she dropped her water bottle.

"Are those... ribs?" she asked.

"I think so. And I think we should... call someone now."

"Who? The police? And say what?"

"That we've found what we think are human remains."

"And how did we know where to dig?"

Thor hesitated. That was a problem.

"We're metal detectorists?" he tried. "We could pick up a metal detector in town and say that we got the signal from the spade, dug down and found... this."

"Can metal detectors see four feet down?"

He didn't know. He had no idea. Possibly not unless they were specialist, professional ones.

"And what if she really is your mother?" Sif continued. "Isn't that too much of a coincidence that you happened to go detectoring in just the right place? I mean, I'd be suspicious if I was a dectective."

Maybe she was right.

"How about a psychic?" Thor asked desperately. "I asked a psychic for help finding my long-lost mother and..."

"I'm sorry, are you suggesting we pretend that psychics are real?"

"Sif, a tree just told us where to dig!"

And he was standing in a grave. He hauled himself out, covered in dirt, waiting for the shock to hit him like it clearly had already hit Sif. There was a body down there. A body that had potentially belonged to a missing woman who might have been his mother.

They couldn't just leave it here.

"Frigga says you could call it in anonymously," Loki said.

Thor looked at Sif, who still looked unsure.

"I suppose we could," she said. "But I don't want to use our own phones. Too traceable. Is there a... phone box anywhere? Honestly, when is the last time you saw one of those that actually had a phone in it?"

"We can find one," Thor insisted. "And we can report it and then they can do DNA and then I can find out if she really is my mother."

He felt a little awkward getting ready to leave, going up to the tree, a weird blend of thinking that this couldn't possibly be real but also that he'd literally dug up the bones now so maybe it was and he couldn't explain it otherwise and...

"Thank you," he said. "I'm sure you understand how difficult this is to believe. And I'll look after Loki. I promise."

Sif seemed well and truly shaken as they retreated to her car, dirt-covered shovels back into the boot, Loki taking a last few moments to talk to the trees.

"You OK?" Thor asked softly.

"We just dug up a person," she said. "A human being. Because a man who thinks he's a forest spirit told us where to dig. I don't know if I'm OK. I don't know if I'll ever be OK. And you can't be. Everything in your life used to be mysteries and now you're so close to knowing something but it's hardly something you can talk about without seeming mad. I'm not totally sure that this is even happening. I might have had a brick fall on my head and this could all be one of those coma dreams."

Thor laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're here with us," he said. "Proves to me that I'm actually experiencing this."

She nodded, eyes closed, taking a deep breath.

"Right," she said, getting into the driver's seat. "Let's go find a phone box. And swing by my place to get an air mattress. Somehow I don't want to be home alone tonight."

Fair enough. And Thor was grateful for her company. It would help him stay a little bit grounded at least.

It took them a long time to find a phone box, but eventually they found a lone survivor right in the middle of town, heavily covered in spiky graffiti.

"Right," Sif said, pulling on the handbrake. "I'll do it."

Thor gave her his change. There was a weight in his chest, a fear. What if they didn't believe? What if they did? What would happen to the bones?

Could you even get DNA from skeletons?

Well, surely you could. They got DNA from ancient bodies, didn't they? A thirty-year-old skeleton ought to be easy.

Sif sighed as she came back, rubbing her hands down her face.

"Do you think they'll do anything about it?" Thor asked.

"No idea. They were very... neutral. I described the site though, next to the old, dead tree. Even if they take a brief wander into the forest to show willing, they'll find it. Her."

She seemed really rather upset. Maybe the shock would hit for Thor soon and he'd start to recognise that he'd dug up a body today and what that meant and yet...

And yet those bones didn't really feel like Frigga to him. The tree did. The words that Loki said felt more like a real person to him.

"Right," she said. "Air bed, pillows and a box of wine."

"What's wine?" Loki asked.

"Tell you what, I'll share and you can find out," she said, heading for home.


	19. Chapter 19

"Thor..." Loki groaned. "I think I'm dying..."

Ugh...

Yes, that had been quite a lot of wine, hadn't it? They'd eaten, but it also really felt like they were waiting for something to happen, Sif compulsively checking the news in case a report of the discovery of human remains had been published.

In an effort to distract them all, Thor had put on The Princess Bride, one of Sif's favourites, and they'd laughed and chatted and... drunk quite a lot. Thor had helped Loki stagger to bed, tried to convince him to drink some water though he'd already mostly fallen asleep...

"You're not dying," Thor mumbled. "You're just hungover. It happens when you've drunk too much alcohol. I'll... I'll help, just hang on."

He got up, staggering towards the kitchen, Sif already up and showering by the sound of things.

Right... Painkillers, water, electrolytes...

Loki shielded his eyes from the dim light coming in through the curtains, curling into a ball.

"Right," Thor said, fizzing multivitamin in one hand, ibuprofen in the other. "Eat this - don't chew, just swallow. And drink this. And try to go back to sleep. I'll make some breakfast."

Right. Right, what was good for hangovers? Fry-ups, right?

Nope... No, he couldn't face that. Just let him sleep it off for a bit for now.

Thor flopped onto the couch, yesterday swirling around his head, arms aching, putting on the TV breakfast news. It would be a while till the local bulletin, but...

"Morning," Sif said, brushing her hair and sitting down next to him. "How's the head?"

"I've got a certain achy edge. Loki thinks he's dying. I've left him in bed with pharmaceutical assistance. Hopefully it'll help."

"Aw... Poor thing."

She'd remembered to charge her phone, scrolling for a moment and then sitting up urgently.

"They've found her."

She passed it over, a picture of police tape around the edge of the forest and people in those white scene of crime suits, all protective masks and gloves.

_Police have confirmed this morning that human remains have been found in Gard's Forest. They say inquiries are ongoing but that so far they did not believe the discovery to be suspicious. Anyone with any information is asked to come forward._

"So what now?" Thor asked. "What should we do?"

"How do they identify people? Like, it's DNA or it's fingerprints - obviously not applicable here - or dental records, right? They'll work out who she is. And then I guess you contact them. Or maybe they'll contact you if you're on a list of people looking for relatives?"

That made sense, right? He just had to be patient.

And yet for a man whose job involved waiting for nature to take its slow course, he really wasn't the most patient of people.

"It still leaves me in a situation where a man who thinks he's a tree spirit has told me where to find my mother's body and asked her permission about being dug up. There's a lot of stuff that I can't explain. A lot of things Loki couldn't possibly know about me. Things that no one knew, not even you. And I don't know what to think about that. I don't know if I'm ill or what, if I've managed to catch a delusion somehow... Or maybe you're right and this is a coma dream."

They watched the television report on the local news bulletin. More on the lunchtime news, they promised, though it probably depended on how much information was released to the press.

"For now, I guess you just wait," Sif said. "But Loki also thinks you're magic. Maybe you can lean into it. See what happens."

"Almost sounds like you believe in it."

She looked at him, only the slight pink around the whites of her eyes betraying the fact that she was probably just as badly hungover as he was.

"We dug up a body. There's a tree downstairs that's growing far, far too fast. Maybe something weird and magical really is happening here."

"That means that Loki really is... not human."

"He's definitely not like anyone I've ever met before."

"But he looks human. He... sounds human. He feels human. I've... Look, it's not what you think but we've..."

"You've sucked him off, I know."

Thor startled and winced as too much movement made his head twinge.

"How? Is it that obvious?"

"It's obvious you like him, but I'm not that psychic. He told me last night when you were in the bathroom. Trying to whisper but not really managing."

Ah...

"It's not... I'm not going further than that. Not until I know for sure."

She shrugged.

"It's your business. And he seems pretty smitten with you. He's weird, sure, but he's... charming. And maybe he is what he says he is. Despite everything, it's the only solution that answers all the questions. So since you like him..."

"I do," Thor said. "I really do. I hope we can stay friends afterwards. Or more than friends. But he'll..."

He sighed.

"It's probably not possible."

"Then enjoy your time together while it lasts," Sif said. "Words to live by, really."

Thor checked on Loki after she left, finding him asleep, face scrunched against the pillow, legs and arms haphazardly thrown across the duvet. Hopefully he'd feel better soon.

And if he really wasn't human then...

Thor snuck over to the drawers, getting some clean clothes, creeping silently out of the room again. Hangover or no, he had to open the shop.

And maybe with distractions, his brain would stop wondering about the logistics of letting Loki stay with him long-term.


	20. Chapter 20

It wouldn't work, of course. You couldn't have someone who didn't exist live with you. What about council tax? What about doctor's appointments? If Loki could be hungover then surely he could get ill. What about vaccinations? Dentists? National insurance?

There were people who lived like that. Victims of trafficking and modern slavery and so on. They weren't exactly on the electoral roll. And there were people with fake identities, right? You could get false papers if you knew where to look.

You couldn't ask questions about that kind of thing without attracting attention though.

And besides, this was all academic anyway. Loki would probably go back to the forest when all this was done. He'd complete his mission, reinvigorate the forest and go home with stories of his experiment of living among humanity. And maybe Thor could visit him sometimes.

Would his body even age? Or would he stay looking roughly thirty forever?

Thor closed the shop briefly over lunch time specifically to watch the news report, finding Loki awake but not feeling well yet. He'd made it to the couch, taking the duvet with him, drinking water by the pint.

"Why do humans do this?" he groaned.

"Because wine tastes good. And some people like the feeling. Of being drunk, not the hangover part."

"I don't even remember some of last night."

Thor stroked his hair, being very careful as he sat beside him, making sure he wasn't going to crush his feet or anything.

"You'll feel better soon," he said. "You just relax."

He put on the news, more footage now, a white tent with more people coming and going. Loki sat up a little, frowning.

"What are they doing?" he asked.

"They're taking Frigga's bones," Thor said. "They want to make sure nothing bad happened to her."

There was a spokesperson talking to camera, very serious.

"We are not ready to release any further information at this time, but we are following some positive lines of inquiry. The remains appear to have been in the ground for some time, more than a decade at least."

Loki seemed agitated, upset, pulling the duvet up around himself.

"They're trampling the forest," he said. "They should be more gentle."

"They won't be there much longer," Thor said, taking his hand and squeezing it. "Try to eat something if you can. I'll be just downstairs if you need me."

"Can I have a kiss?"

Half laughing, he leant over and was very gentle as he pressed their mouths together. It seemed to be soothing, to an extent at least, watching him snuggle down on the couch and switch over to his favourite channel, the one full of nature documentaries.

It felt almost distressingly normal for a moment. Like having a boyfriend, a normal boyfriend, recovering from a little too much indulgence. Thor liked the idea of it. He liked the company, he liked seeing the world a little differently. He liked Loki... He liked him a lot.

He shouldn't dream such things. He shouldn't. It would only hurt him in the long run.

He popped out to the supermarket after closing time just to pick up a few things, the few vegetables he didn't have in, some bread and so on.

Opening the door of the flat, there was a distinct burning smell...

"Loki?"

"Everything's fine."

Well, that didn't worry him at all.

The kitchen was a little smoky, the window open to help, Loki looking a bit sheepish but mainly just resolute.

"I tried to cook but your oven is broken."

It wasn't broken, but it had not appreciated a frozen pizza being put in for what looked like far too long. With some investigation, Thor discovered that he'd managed to set the timer for twenty hours rather than twenty minutes.

It probably wasn't possible to salvage it, unfortunately...

This was the other potential problem. Loki had no life skills. He didn't know how to cook or do laundry or clean or buy things. He had no concept of money really, though he understood that people gave Thor something in return for plants.

He could... learn, Thor supposed. He could be dropped unceremoniously into adulthood and Thor could help him get to grips with it. It must be possible. People recovered from all kinds of injuries and illnesses and relearned how to live their lives. People got paralysed and lost limbs and learned new ways of living.

These were unsafe thoughts. Loki would go back to the forest. This thing between them, whatever it was - an attraction, some mutual interest - was a temporary affair, not a long-term relationship.

They should make the most of it, really. Make good memories.

Enjoy it while it lasted.


	21. Chapter 21

_Police announced this morning that the human remains found in Gard's Wood last week have been formally identified as Frigga Vanheimr, a local woman missing for thirty years. They said it was highly likely she had died soon after the last confirmed sighting of her alive and were working with a specialist forensic team to determine the cause of death._

With Loki napping on his chest, Thor sent the article link to Sif and then opened the missing persons forum. He'd been lurking on it for a few days, reading all the theories about who the body might be.

It was painful to read. A lot of people assumed the worst. Anyone missing someone within about three hundred miles for more than ten years had jumped to the potential conclusion that this was their loved one and the responses had ranged from total denial to complete conviction that they knew.

Thor had wanted so badly to tell them the truth, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself. Wait for it to come out officially.

Now that particular area of the forum had an atmosphere like a funeral. Mixed emotions. Most people were relieved that it wasn't their daughter or mother or friend, but some were definitely disappointed. They just wanted to know. It was the questions that hurt the most.

Thor knew that feeling. If it turned out she wasn't his mother at all, he had no idea what he'd do.

And now he had to keep waiting. But how long? How long should he let things lie before taking action and trying to prove things?

It wasn't like he wasn't busy. In the past week, he'd been trying to help Loki be more independent. For now, it was all still very novel, but Thor was just waiting for the moment when doing the dishes and hoovering and all the other little bits of every day life became too tedious.

Then again, there was satisfaction in managing together. Thor liked looking after him and he seemed to feel a similar drive, wanting to know how to do all the things that humans did.

It felt like every day, he found something else that was fascinating and bizarre. Everything from the very concept of surgery ("What do you mean, they cut people to make them well? That makes no sense.") to the fact that there were so many languages and cultures and countries and that money was different in different places and sometimes the money was worth different amounts...

It might help if Thor had a better grasp of economics to answer his questions, but really he knew what taxes and insurance and bills he had to pay and keep track of personally and not much else.

In many ways, he was learning almost as much.

They had a steady routine of documentaries and classic films in the evening, Thor enjoying the pure joy of someone who genuinely couldn't guess the endings of things, who didn't know cliches or narrative conventions yet.

Emotions were hard though. The first time Loki had cried - at _Lord of the Rings_ , with the Ents - huge tears pouring down his cheeks, trying to wipe them away, had clearly been quite a shock.

"What's... Why is this happening?" he sobbed.

"It's OK," Thor had said, an arm around him. "It's just a lot of feelings."

"You're not leaking."

"No. But I've seen it before. I knew what was going to happen. And I have more experience with emotions within a body than you do."

The worst thing was news and current affairs. Having to try to explain war and prejudice and corruption and all the horrors of the world. Sometimes Loki went very quiet and stopped asking questions and somehow that was the worst. Seeing him taking it all in, trying to make sense of so many nonsensical things.

"How do you manage?" he asked one evening. "How are you not sad every second of every day with all the bad things happening?"

Thor took a deep breath.

"I don't really know," he said. "And sometimes it's hard. Really hard. But the human mind is strange. I guess we're used to focussing on what affects us immediately and to stop thinking about far away things. And sometimes far away is relative. You can forget about bad things in the next house even or the street outside. And then, when you remember, you can feel bad about that."

"It's hard."

Yeah. Yeah, it was sometimes. And Thor had said something about being thankful and counting himself lucky and all of that, that he had his health and relative stability and so on.

He became aware that Loki had woken up, a slight change in his breathing, but he obviously didn't want to move just yet. It was their day off, after all. Thor just kept stroking his hair, comfortable in the peace.

By the time Loki got up, he was almost dozing again, phone held loosely in his grasp, feeling himself jerk awake.

"Mm?"

"Stay there. I'm going to make toast."

A few days ago, Thor would have been decidedly unsure about that, but he was making a determined effort to at least let Loki try to do things for himself.

"Can we go outside today?" Loki called through from the kitchen.

"Where?"

"Anywhere. I have an urge to be outside."

Fair enough. There was a park near enough to walk. It would be nice to be out. And later, they'd head to the allotment, do a little work there, though it was generally just weeding right now.

Maybe he should ask Loki about these powers he was meant to be developing around the same time.

In truth, he didn't really want to. If he learned whatever it was and he rejuvenated the forest then surely Loki would leave him. He didn't want that. He wanted to put it off for as long as possible.

Just because something was inevitable didn't mean he couldn't dread it. Like death. Or deadlines.

A future problem. Something that right now, he wasn't going to think about.


	22. Chapter 22

"Who put on these labels? It's Latin, isn't it?"

They'd walked right into town, to what counted as a public garden here, an ambitious but small example with a modest glass house and some of those little metal name stakes.

"It is Latin. Have I not talked about binomials? They're names humans give to all plants and animals. So, I mean, there's lots of different kinds of daffodils and they'll have different Latin names. Or maybe humans in different countries call different plants by the same name so a binomal makes sure we're all talking about the same thing. The people who work here will have put them up."

"What's the binomial for oaks?"

Thor racked his brain. He rarely used them if he was honest, especially not for trees.

"I think it's... Quercus something? I'd have to look it up."

It was good for them both to be outside but crucially not in a forest with bones in it. Thor wrapped his arm around Loki's waist as they wandered leisurely round the meandering paths, alongside dog walkers and families, joggers and other couples.

The spring flowers were beginning to fade, the summer plants beginning to bud. People talked a lot about the transition from summer to autumn or winter to spring, but Thor loved this subtler change too.

It felt very normal. Just talking a walk. Getting some fresh air.

Loki slipped out of his grasp to rush to one of the trees, a birch of some kind, laying his hand on it. Thor waited, approaching carefully.

"What are they saying?" he asked.

"Mm... Mainly they're surprised to see a dryad who is a human. And they're very interested in you."

Thor scoffed a little.

"Because I'm talking to you?"

"No. It's because they can sense you're not fully human."

That sounded serious. Loki reached behind himself, eyes closed, finding Thor's hand and pulling him closer.

"Touch it," he said.

Thor felt uneasy putting his hand on the bark, feeling nothing more than a tree, nothing weird, and yet...

Loki sighed gently, pressing his hand on top of Thor's.

"It's like with the acorns. Just... Push life into it, let it flow through you."

Thor closed his eyes and did his best. It had worked before, though he wasn't sure why. He'd just... thought growing thoughts. Buds and new leaves and drawing nutrients from the soil... But how could he transfer it? How could he turn that feeling into something physical to put into the tree?

And it must look very strange, the two of them communing with nature like this. He hoped no one was looking. Or at least that no one recognised him.

He tried to imagine that he could breathe it in almost, emptying his lungs completely, long, slow breaths.

"Is it working?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. The dryad doesn't feel very different. But like I said, we live slowly. It might take some time to have an effect."

Or maybe he had no idea what he was doing and nothing would come of it.

Still, it was a nice way to spend a morning and by the time they wandered down to the allotment, Thor was feeling very peaceful and relaxed.

Admittedly, they hadn't been for a week or two, but the increase in weeds was incredible. It was almost like someone had dropped a barrow-load onto his plot.

And yet, they didn't seem to be adversely affecting his vegetables too much. They were growing well. Better than well, actually. He'd never had such large onions so early. It was like everything in his plot was bursting out of the ground.

Still, he didn't want to spread weeds to his neighbours' spaces. It was meditative, gently moving from one side of his little rectangle to the other, Loki helping as best he could even though the concept of a weed was foreign to him. All plants were good, though he had some dislike for mistletoe.

"Someone must have spilled some fertilizer or sonething," Thor said, shuffling along on his knees.

"I think you're starting to release more of your powers," Loki said. "It's a good sign."

"So, what, every plant I touch is going to grow better?"

"Maybe. The dryad in the park said it was like a warmth coming from you."

"What, like an aura? Like a cloud around me?"

"Maybe. You look normal to me, but I only have human eyes. There are a lot of other things I was aware of in the forest that I'm not now. Sunlight and all the living things all around. Maybe you have a presence. Maybe it's growing."

Huh. Maybe.

"I guess we can experiment with it," Thor said. "I'll touch something and not something else and we'll see what happens."

He didn't want to mess with anyone else's crop, but on their way home, pleasantly tired and looking forward to dinner, they came across some council-funded planters. Uncared for, mostly gone wild and full of litter. But there were two of them at the end of a cul-de-sac, more or less on the same aspect, more or less equal.

Thor picked the left one at random, running his fingers over pansies and cowslips, some kind of self-seeded geranium.

It would certainly be good for business if he was able to heal plants just by touch.

Probably still wouldn't help with aphids though.


	23. Chapter 23

_Botanics staff are baffled by the appearance of new growth on one of their birch trees which has sprouted in a shape very similar to a human hand..._

Thor watched a little video of the head of the arboretum, absolutely thrilled to be making local news, getting a bit of publicity.

"It's a very unusual sight," she said. "It's not uncommon for trees to sprout new growth but so much so far down the trunk is rather unusual..."

The were putting the shape down to the human brain's desire to see patterns everywhere, which made sense, if you didn't know the truth. And the truth sounded ridiculous, so he didn't blame them.

That was his hand-print in green shoots, exactly where he had tried to tap into those powers that Loki kept insisting were latent within him. And it had worked. Thor didn't understand how, but it had. There were distinct buds and twigs exactly where he had pressed his hand against the trunk and that meant it had worked, somehow. He did have that power.

It would be better if he understood what exactly he did to cause it. He just thought about growth and germination and sprouting, but at the same time, it seemed like just touching plants was enough to make them grow better.

He was definitely noticing it now. New seedlings were popping up much sooner than expected. His experiments with rooting succulents weren't just successful, but all of them were strong and thriving. It was like he could do no wrong suddenly.

With plants, at least...

Sif knew he was delaying things, gently nudging him from time to time. He hadn't done any research into how to get a DNA test. He was waiting for the forensic people to call him. But then again, if they buried Frigga's bones again and then he called... He didn't really like the idea of disinterring her again.

He should call. But then he'd know for sure and he'd have to stop pretending that he didn't totally believe and then he'd have to go to the forest and then Loki would leave him...

A kiss to the top of his head as Loki brought tea, settling into bed next to him.

"It worked," Thor said, showing him the picture.

A grin, very excited.

"You're almost ready, I think. We should ask Sif to take us back to the forest and talk with the elders. They'll guide you through the next steps."

Thor's stomach felt uncomfortably heavy. At the start of all of this, he'd been concerned about getting back to his ordinary life. Now his ordinary was different. And he really didn't want to go back.

He wondered if Loki could tell he was troubled by the way he clung to him that night, wanting to remember everything about him just in case, to imprint it on his memory. The sharpness of his hips, the breadth of his shoulders, the scent of him, even the tone of his breathing.

They still hadn't had sex - not all the way, as it were - and sometimes Thor thought Loki wanted to ask. He was waiting for him to ask really. Letting it be his decision.

It wasn't like he didn't enjoy what they did already. Loki was enthusiastic and eager and responsive in a way that was entirely, wonderfully without artifice. He said when he liked things, when he didn't. They were learning together in a lot of ways.

But beyond that, it was the general intimacy that he loved too. It was waking up next to someone, it was getting cuddled and kisses before going to sleep. It was in a touch and a murmur. It was just sharing space with someone.

And he was really going to miss it when he didn't have it anymore.

Loki woke him by shaking his shoulder, urgent and worried.

"Something's wrong," he said.

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

"Something's wrong with your plants."


	24. Chapter 24

It wasn't so much that something was wrong with the plants. More like something was incredibly, horribly right with them.

Every single one had shot up in height overnight, almost blocking Thor's windows and overbalancing some of their pots. The lid had lifted from his propagator by sheer volume of plant matter, choked with roots and an ornamental ivy that had been drooping and sad two days ago was now making a spirited attempt to cover an entire wall.

Thor picked up one of his tomato plants, finding it sprouting blossoms under his fingers, instantly. Like a time lapse camera but right before his eyes.

"It's getting worse," he said. "I don't... I'm not just not controlling this, it's actively out of control."

"They must be reacting to something," Loki said. "Are you feeling... very alive?"

If he had to name it, he'd say the exact opposite if anything. He didn't feel alive or euphoric or anything like that; he was thinking about the future with a hefty amount of trepidation and fear. This theory that his happiness was what brought his powers out was surely not correct since he was currently so scared and worried.

"I don't know," he said.

Maybe it was just any kind of strong emotion that brought it on including negative ones.

Even in his shower, mildew seemed to spring up under his feet no matter how much he grumbled at it that it was a fungus, not a plant, unhappily sloshing bleach around afterwards to get rid of it.

He put on gloves and long sleeves, covering as much skin as possible, and tried to work out what to do.

"I think we should go to the forest today," he said. "I clearly have a lot of... life in me right now. We should do it. It's time."

Loki looked at him like he was surprised, trying to tidy things up a little, but he nodded.

"Alright," he said. "Yes, that's... That's what should happen."

Thor hesitated.

"What's wrong?" he asked, watching Loki blink, like he was trying his best to hold back tears. "What is it?"

"Just... I wanted to be here longer. But once it's done... my mission will be over."

Thor's heart ached, like it was being squeezed tightly in his chest.

"I want you to stay too," he said softly. "But I didn't know if you could or if you'd even want to..."

"Of course I want to, but..."

"You're not allowed? The elders won't allow it or something?"

Loki frowned, like that thought had never occured to him.

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't ask. I didn't expect this to happen. I suppose... Maybe they wouldn't mind. Maybe since you're the son of the king, it would be alright. We could always ask them."

"And what could they do about it anyway even if they said no? They're trees."

Loki laughed, but almost like he was shocked at himself, covering his mouth as Thor's phone rang. Unknown number. Odd.

He answered it, with some difficulty in his gloves. Maybe it was a customer or one of his suppliers.

"Hello, is this Thor Robins?"

"Yeah, that's me."

"My name is Dr Helen Cho. I understand you underwent DNA testing some time ago seeking potential relatives?"

It sounded like a question.

"Yes, that's correct."

"Is this a good time to talk?"

Not really. He didn't have time. And he knew what it was. He knew exactly what she was going to say to him, a sentence he'd been waiting his whole life to hear but not right now...

"Have you found a match?" he asked, trying to hurry things along.

"Yes, we have. It's a very close one. Perhaps you ought to come down to the lab. Sometimes these conversations are best to have in person."

"Um..."

Did he have time? Could he guarantee that he wouldn't so much as brush against a plant on the way or - worse - inside the lab or whatever? And besides, it would be in the county town, near the university, he'd have to get a train...

"It's Frigga Vanheimr, isn't it?" he said.

There was a pause. A long one.

"How did you know that?" she asked. "Has someone contacted you already?"

"No. No, I saw on the news about her body being found. And the timeline fits. The time and the place."

Another silence, like she was trying to work out what to say.

"You seem very calm about it," she said. "Are you sure you're alright? It can be very stressful and shocking, especially when the discovery comes in such troublesome circumstances."

Thor blinked a couple of times.

"Troublesome circumstances?" he repeated. "Is there... something wrong with the body? Was she murdered or something?"

"We have an idea of the cause of death - don't worry, we haven't found any marks of violence. I still think it would be a good idea for you to come in and speak to us. Maybe later in the week if that's more convenient?"

Maybe he could do that.

He deliberately used a pen rather than a pencil to write down the address and time. Even with gloves, he didn't want a pencil sprouting to life in his hands, even if that wood was probably long dead.

Loki had moved a lot of his plants while he was on the phone, letting some light in, sweeping up some errant soil. If anything, it was worse seeing it in actual sunlight.

"Should we call Sif?" hr asked. "Get her to take us out to the forest?"

"I think she'll already be at work. She won't answer at this time of day. And I don't much like the idea of a cab. We could... walk, I suppose?"

Loki took a deep breath and nodded.

"It is time," he said firmly. "We must both fulfil our destinies."

Thor grabbed his sleeve as he headed for the door, pulling him close.

"Just... You know, in case I don't get to say it... I think I'm in love with you."

Loki's eyes went very big, a little surprised it seemed, long, slow blinks.

"You mean... You mean really in love?" he asked.

"Yes. Really. I love how interested you are in the world and now quickly you learn things and how you've made me see everything so differently..."

He suddenly had rather a lot of Loki in his arms and kissing his face and murmuring something half against his skin.

Eventually, he managed to make out that he was saying he felt the same.


	25. Chapter 25

Right. Jars of acorns and a couple of trowels into a backpack. If they got stopped by the police on the way, who knew how he'd explain this or the fact that he was dressed for autumn at least if not winter, but they'd cross that bridge if they came to it.

He couldn't risk any bare skin touching a plant, even by accident, definitely not in public. It would be far, far too much to explain.

He stuck up a note saying the florist's was closed due to illness. Well... It might as well be true. Close enough.

They passed the town planter he'd touched a few days ago, almost bursting, heaving with plants. It was incongruous, worrying, frightening even. And it wasn't the only thing. A rose in a garden that he'd brushed past was covered in buds and flowers. A sad lavender in a pot that he'd checked for infection was now alive with bees drinking its nectar.

"What if this is permanent?" Thor asked urgently. "What if I can't touch plants ever again without... this happening?"

"You will," Loki said, somewhat out of breath with the speed they were walking at. "The elders will help us. They'll know what to do."

Thor really wished he had his faith. And that country roads had more of a pavement than a grassy verge. He kept expecting his footprints to be visible behind him, fresh shoots springing up under his feet. His shoes were protecting him, for now.

"Is this the way you walked to find me?" Thor asked.

"Uh-huh."

"How did you know where I was?"

"Your father only died a summer or two ago. He had sometimes checked on you. Without you knowing. Frigga described the shop to me, how to find it, from what he had told her."

Thor felt a little prickle behind his eyes.

"He came to see me? He knew where I was?"

"Sometimes he lost you for a while, but I think he always tried to know you were safe."

Someone had cared about him. They had looked for him. They didn't just abandon him without caring.

"I wish he'd told me who he was," Thor said. "I wish I could speak to him and to Frigga."

"I expect he thought you'd think he was lying if he did. Or sick, like you thought I was. You were happy. That was all they wanted for you. And you can talk to Frigga."

"I know, but... You know, in person. It's not quite the same."

"You're part dryad, Thor. Maybe you can learn."

That would be wonderful. All the same, the knowledge that he might have seen his father, might have passed him on the street, might have spoken to him even...

And never known.

The first sight of the woods was equal parts a relief and worrying, a lot of trepidation in Thor's whole being. He hadn't asked for this. He didn't know how to do it, didn't know what was expected of him.

What if it hurt? What if it changed him forever?

Maybe they sped up their pace even more for the last stretch... Thor gulped water as they stood on the edge of the forest, breathing hard.

"Alright," he said to the trees at large. "I'm here. What do you want me to do?"

Loki touched the nearest oak, closing his eyes as he listened.

"The elders know," he said. "Come on."

Even walking through the forest seemed to make it more alive. Trees seemed to become greener as Thor approached, buds ripening and spiralling into leaves.

Back to that clearing. His father's tree. The disturbed ground where Frigga's body had been. The trampled undergrowth where the forensics team had walked through over and over.

Loki was frowning, his hands on the bark of a knarled old oak, one of the widest ones. He knelt down and then collapsed sideways, Thor rushing to his side, trying to protect his head, keep him comfortable.

It was probably only moments before he coughed and spluttered back to life, but it felt to Thor like far, far too long. He didn't like that at all..

"They want to talk to you personally," Loki said between gasps.

"But I can't," Thor said. "I don't know how to hear them."

"You need to listen to your dryad side. The urge to not just be around plants but in them, part of them. Just... trick your spirit into forgetting it's part of a body for a moment. I'll look after it, don't worry."

He made it sound so easy...

Thor took off his backpack and gloves, kneeling next to him. At least a branch didn't sprout under his hands as he closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself pushing forwards, moving out of his skin and through the bark, into the living fibres of the wood...

He remained firmly, stubbornly in his own body.

"I can't do this," he grunted. "It's not working."

He put a hand on the ground to steady himself, almost immediately covered in grass and moss and ivy, ripping his way out of it.

"Keep trying," Loki said.

"I am!"

He didn't mean to snap, but he was getting desperate, trying his best, feeling Loki's hands on top of his, the warmth of his body behind him, light pressure, trying to push him...

Something tugged at his chest.

That was the only way he cold think of it. It was like a hand had reached into his very being, behind his ribs and gripped and pulled and...

And suddenly he wasn't breathing anymore.


	26. Chapter 26

Sunlight. Water. Earth.

His whole body was lungs and stomach, absorbing food and air all over and blood flowing through his veins without a heart beat. Only it wasn't blood. It was something else. Sap, maybe.

And it wasn't his body... It was something else, something he was very close to but still not part of.

This was _weird..._

He wasn't alone. Thor wasn't sure how he knew that, but he did. He could feel it. He could sense the presence of someone else. Many someones.

And he could also... see. Maybe. It didn't feel like seeing as such. More like he was aware of what was around him without having eyes. But he could... focus maybe.

That was his body. That was him. And Loki was behind him, leaning against him, hands on his. He hadn't fallen yet. He wasn't moving at all actually. Nothing was. There was a bird frozen in mid-air, a parade of ants stock still...

Or were they...?

Everything small suddenly came very close with just a thought, like he'd knelt down for a closer look. The ants were moving. Just slowly. Incredibly, impossibly slowly.

"Hello?" he tried.

He did not speak. He didn't have a mouth or vocal cords or lungs. It was more like thinking very loudly. But he felt something in response, a feeling of relief and excitement and welcome.

"Hello," he thought again. "What do I need to do?"

Too much. There were too many feelings, too many reactions. There was urgency and also calm and there was something very forthright and decisive but he didn't know what it meant and there was something a lot gentler and, and, and...

"I'm sorry. I don't understand."

The sensations stopped. Or rather they didn't, but they seemed to no longer be directed at him. It was like a conversation happening in another room that he could overhear but not quite make out.

His body had begun to fall backwards now. Only a tiny amount, but it definitely had. It was like everything was happening much slower than normal.

_Thor._

The voice arrived in his mind like someone was talking to him, and yet there was no sound.

"Yes?"

_We haven't got long. Your body will fail without you in it. Listen very carefully. You need to allow yourself to spread. You are limitless, bound only by the forest. Stop holding yourself here. Go out. Be in every tree. Be broad and expand._

He didn't know what they meant. He didn't understand.

"How?" he asked.

_Do you feel the roots? The branches?_

"Yes."

_You are within them. Within this tree. But the whole forest is connected. Let yourself flow outwards into it._

He could feel it. He could sense the smallest white roots, the tenderest buds. And beyond the roots... There were more roots. Different roots...

More roots. More and more. More branches and leaves. The fertilised blossoms that would become acorns, already beginning to form. And he felt...

Like he had always been here and always would be. Like this was where he was meant to be.

And they were so happy to see him. Almost every new tree he entered felt like a hug from a dear friend, a warm embrace, the place in the world that he'd always been looking for his whole life...

More. Further. His consciousness spread like ripples across a lake, more roots, more branches, out and out...

He was everywhere. He was everything. He was life and death happening all at once to thousands of organisms, he was decay and nourishment, he was sap and bark and...

_Thor._

He could feel everything.

_All that vitality built up in you? Let it go. Stop holding back._

He hadn't realised that he was until he heard it. Like being hunched over and managing a good stretch. Like lying down on a soft mattress. Like coming to the surface of a pool and taking a deep breath.

Life flowed out of him. He felt it saturating the forest, every tree, from the elders in the clearing outwards. Like water rushing along a dry riverbed, saturating everything with life, and he could feel it, he could feel the health of the trees and everything that relied on them. He could feel parasites and fungi and diseases, he could feel birds and bugs and worms and mammals and...

_Thor. Come back now._

He didn't want to... This was everything. He was everything all at once.

_Loki's doing a wonderful job, but we really don't have long._

Loki.

Yes. His body. He needed that.

It was strange to shrink. Coming back and back and back until he was only within that first tree, seeing his body inert on the ground, Loki doing a rough approximation of mouth-to-mouth. He should really go back now before he did any damage. But he needed to ask...

"Are you Frigga? Are you my mother?"

_Yes._

"Why... Why did you leave me?"

A wave of sorrow and pain washed over him like a flood, like a wall.

_I didn't want to. I had no choice. It was the best thing to do. It wasn't because I didn't want you or didn't love you. I love you with my whole being._

"Then why?"

_My bones will tell you. Just know that I love you and always have, always will. I hope we can learn to talk more frequently. But you need to breathe now._

Thor felt a push. A distinct shove.

And he was on the ground, the hard earth, his lungs screaming, coughing and gasping for breath. He sat up more out of reflex than anything else, the world spinning around him.

Loki rubbed his back, looking rather rattled but also so happy.

"You did it," he said. "I felt it happen, you did it."

Thor pulled him close, suddenly feeling a deep need to be held. To feel something solid in his arms.

And to sleep. He was exhausted suddenly, his eyelids already drooping. He felt Loki put a coat under his head, felt him cuddle in to him.

"Don't know why I'm so tired..."

"You just poured life into a whole forest. Several summers' worth. It's bound to be a little draining."

He barely even heard Loki speak.

He was already asleep.


	27. Chapter 27

"You're sure he's going to be alright?"

Thor felt very cold and tired, but that was... That was Sif's voice. How was Sif here?

"The elders certainly think so," and that was Loki. "It's very tiring though. He needs to rest."

Trying to roll over was hard. He was very stiff, every muscle shouting at him, like he'd run several marathons and then decided to throw in some bench presses for good measure.

"Ow..."

Loki beamed down at him from where he was kneeling next to him, Sif looking distinctly more worried.

"Can you get up?" she asked. "Are you alright? Can you walk?"

"What time is it?"

"Nearly six."

Huh... Well, that explained why he was so hungry... They must have arrived at around twelve and then there'd been all the... stuff and so he'd been asleep for...

Ugh, counting was hard.

"I used your phone to call her," Loki said. "I don't think you can manage getting home."

No. He could barely get up, staggering into a tree, awkwardly apologising to it. He felt incredibly heavy, cumbersome and clumsy. It was like he was drunk or feverish or something.

"The acorns," he mumbled.

"I planted them while you slept. Your mother kept an eye on you."

"I spoke to her..."

Sif took his arm, trying to support him a little, Loki helping on the other side, directing his stumbling feet.

"You spoke to her?" Sif asked. "What did she say?"

"Bones. S'all in the bones."

With some difficulty, they led him out of the woods, a line of newly sprouting saplings on the edge. The new trees. It would have taken Loki hours.

"He's freezing," Sif said. "I've got a blanket somewhere back there. Try to warm him up."

Putting on a seatbelt was tricky, but then Loki was beside him, all warm and smelling of outside and sap and exercise, holding his hands, rubbing some warmth back into them... Mm... This was nice...

He brushed his lips against Loki's neck, fighting against the urge to fall asleep again as Sif reversed out of the car park and headed back towards town.

"I love you."

"I know."

"We should... you know."

"What?"

"You and me, we should... Later."

"Do you mean we should have sex?"

Well, Thor had been trying to keep his voice down a little bit, eyes sliding to the rearview mirror. Sif was busy watching the road though.

"Sleep and food and warmth first," she said firmly. "And then you two can figure it out."

Thor squeezed Loki's hand, urgent suddenly.

"You're staying with me? For... For a while?"

"I'd like to. I'm going to try."

"And the elders..."

"Oh, they don't mind. You did what was needed. That's the main thing. I think they like knowing you have a more tangible connection."

Hm. Tangible sounded good.

There were going to be a lot of potential issues in this plan around ID and taxes and healthcare and so on, but maybe they could wait for a couple of days. At least.

They bundled him off to bed as soon as they got home - disappointingly alone - all wrapped up with covers and a hot water bottle. And he was exhausted. He drifted off before even managing to mumble a complaint.

He must have slept the whole night through, sunlight peeking round the edges of the curtain when he woke up. He was still aching, but distinctly less so than yesterday. And Loki was lying next to him, so handsome in his sleep, those pink lips just begging to be kissed.

Light humming as he woke up, reaching for Thor immediately, into his arms like he belonged there. And for a moment, they simply kissed, half-awake and warm and soft in the morning light. And then maybe Thor's hand strayed a little lower than normal, feeling Loki arch against him.

"Wait," Loki said against his mouth. "You're not ready."

"Not far off..."

"You need to eat. You need to regain your strength and stamina. And you need hydration too."

He was right. Thor let himself be pushed firmly back onto the mattress, openly ogling as Loki walked out of the room.

Something had clearly got his libido into gear. Maybe all that life and growth flowing through him. Whatever it was, he was full of desire, kicking the blankets down and getting rid of the clothes he was still wearing, trying to look enticing when Loki returned.

It was difficult to say whether it had worked. Loki had brought him a bowl of pasta and a cup of tea, but he was openly staring too...

"Food first," he said firmly.

"It won't take long. I want to taste you."

"But I promised Sif."

Well, that was something to consider, to be fair. She'd probably made him swear on every tree in the world to make him eat and drink before doing anything else.

Thor took the bowl and started eating. His cock had been becoming very interested in proceedings, but began to calm down, even when Loki sat down beside him, stroking his hair.

"What kind of sex were you thinking of?" he asked. "With hands or mouths?"

"I... was thinking maybe something else."

Loki knelt up, excited.

"I thought maybe you didn't like that kind," he said. "Since you never said..."

"Would you like to?"

That bitten lip, that eager nod. Ooh...

"I think maybe you should be... inside me this time," Thor said, sipping his tea, trying not to blush. "And another time, the other way. If that's alright."

"It is. I just want to be with you. Feel everything with you."

"If you go to the bathroom, in the cupboard right at the back, you'll find a bottle of lubricant. We'll need that."

And they should probably use condoms, but then again, the chances of Loki having anything was very, very slim. And he couldn't remember where he'd left his supply.

He drank his tea, hot and satisfying, and waited with his anticipation only rising higher.


	28. Chapter 28

Loki was equally excited, rushing back, already pulling off his T-shirt as he burst back through the door.

"I've seen this done," he said. "But the... The actual doing it, I don't know how easy it is."

"Better with preparation," Thor said. "I'll show you. Come here."

He wanted Loki in his arms. That was all, really. He'd had a taste to being body-less, of being almost infinite, and now he wanted to remind himself of some of the benefits of having a physical form. Like being able to hold someone you loved.

And kisses. He liked kisses a lot.

He was trying to warm up his lube a little, holding it tight in his fist, but he was too impatient. They'd waited a long time to embark on this particular journey together, almost missed their chance entirely.

Besides, the chill against his skin was invigorating as he reached down between his legs, Loki shuffling quickly down the mattress to watch.

"It's been a while since I last did this," Thor said. "It requires a bit of patience, I'm afraid."

"I'll try not to get too overexcited."

He probably wasn't going to be the issue. Thor was already imagining being filled for the first time in so long, having Loki above him and within him and in his arms experiencing this together...

His body had been through rather a lot in the last day or so, complaining a little as he started pressing inside, just the tip of one finger for now. He was too tense, too full of anticipation maybe.

But then he looked at Loki, at the way he was gazing at him with open wonder, and felt a wave of peace and comfort roll through him, his muscles relaxing enough to let him slip his index finger all the way inside.

Loki's eyes were practically glittering with excitement.

"How does it feel?" he asked. "Is it good?"

"Right now, it mainly feels weird. But it will start to feel good soon."

It already did, in that he liked seeing how Loki was clearly excited. He appreciated being so openly, mutually desired.

Maybe he rushed a little, using two fingers a bit two quickly, gritting his teeth through the pain and hoping Loki wouldn't notice. But he did, of course, a distinct air of worry in his face.

"I'm OK," Thor insisted. "I'm just... eager."

"Sif won't be happy if she knows I let you hurt yourself."

"It's only a tiny bit. Can you give me more lube?"

Was he deliberately generous with it or was it just unfamiliarity with this particular kind of bottle? Maybe it was a little of both, but Thor was more than sufficiently slick now. Which was good. Always better to use too much than not enough, at least in this kind of thing.

A little more and he felt ready to really prepare himself, stretching and teasing just a little, his breathing speeding up.

"I'm nearly ready," he said. "Come here."

Loki crawled up his body for kisses, giggling a little nervously, his cock firm against Thor's skin, gasping as it slipped over his flesh.

"Will it fit?" he asked.

"Of course," Thor murmured, helping him line up. "Just push. Nice and steady."

It took a couple of tries but then Loki was gasping above him, overwhelmed, resting his forehead against Thor's, his breath so quick and sharp.

"Oh, _Thor..."_

Wrapping his legs around Loki's waist, angling upwards, Thor started rolling his hips, just a little, just to enjoy being full and surrounded by the man he loved.

The dryad he loved. Whatever.

"How's that?" he asked.

"Good... Mm... How does it feel for you?"

Talking about it, especially during sex, didn't exactly come naturally to Thor, but he was determined to try.

"It's nice to be full," he said, probably blushing a little. "Your cock feels good. Nice and firm inside me. I've wanted this for a long time."

"You never said."

"I wanted to be sure we were both ready. And it's even better than I thought."

The first thrust was a surprise, an instinctive motion. Loki had no rhythm yet, more like a desperate yearning to get even closer. Thor grinned up at him, everything so perfect and feeling like they could stay like this for hours.

At least until Loki changed the angle slightly and he found himself keening, the look of joyous surprise on Loki's face only slightly less pleasing.

"You liked that," he said, hitting Thor's prostate again with really unfair accuracy. "What is it?"

"There's... Mm! There's a gland inside that - ooh - that feels good when you... Yeah, right there."

Loki was clearly thrilled by this new discovery, sitting up and getting faster, Thor letting his moans out freely, feeling like even a few strokes of his cock would push him over the edge and wanting to stay right on it for as long as possible, that perfect feeling just before the end.

"You're so warm," Loki was saying breathlessly above him. "And so firm inside. Does it feel good?"

"Yeah... Yeah, yeah, it does. I knew it would."

"And you'll do this for me? Fill me up and let me feel how this feels?"

Oh, God...

"Uh-huh," Thor said, unable to resist, reaching for his cock where it was bouncing with every thrust. "Keep going, keep going..."

He could almost imagine it now. He'd be so gentle, take all the time they needed. Maybe try out just fingers first, help Loki come like that, show him yet another thing his body could do and then when they were ready, slowly, so slowly and gently pushing his cock inside...

If he could make it feel half as good as Loki was managing on his first try, he'd be very happy.

He came all over his stomach, Loki letting out a little sound of surprise and then a deeply sated moan, only seconds behind him.

"You squeezed me so tight," he said, his softening cock slipping out as Thor reached for him, wanting more kisses.

"Coming makes all your muscles contract. I did that because you made me feel so good."

It was the truth, but Loki seemed almost bashful about it, glad to be praised so openly. It felt pretty nice to be so open too.

"I can hardly wait to feel your cock inside me," Loki said.

Maybe one of these days, Thor would even manage to stop blushing at it.


	29. Chapter 29

"Mr Robins, thank you so much for coming."

Thor felt decidedly awkward sitting on an orange chair in the office part of the laboratory, a converted building from the 70s he thought, all brickwork and linoleum floor. It reminded him of being in the college parts of his apprenticeship.

He'd been nervous all the way on the train, even with Loki sitting next to him barely managing to hold back his excitement. He'd only seen trains on TV before and actually being on one... Even the first steam passengers' eyes probably hadn't been quite so big.

He was off exploring a bigger botanical garden while Thor went for his meeting with Dr Cho, awkward as he shook her hand and followed her up the stairs to her office.

"It was a very unusual case," she was saying, closing the door, a haphazard collection of textbooks and papers on her desk. "Please, sit down."

"It was a surprise for me too," Thor said. "She's definitely my mother?"

"Absolutely. I have no doubts whatsoever about that."

She showed him some charts and test results that he didn't really understand other than the word "MATCH" at the top. Something about genetic material and DNA and genome markers.

"There is still one thing I don't really understand," Thor said. "I've read a lot of articles from when she disappeared and none of them say she was pregnant. Do you know why that information was never released? Were they hoping a... a murderer was going to come forward and reveal it?"

"According to her medical records, she had no contact with any kind of prenatal care. She didn't tell her doctor she was pregnant. And while it's possible that she thought it was the menopause, the rest of her behaviour - planning her holiday from work at the right time and taking to wearing loose clothing - suggests she knew. She must have kept it hidden from everyone. It's a difficult thing to do, but it happens sometimes."

Thor tried his best to follow what she was trying to tell him.

"Why?" he asked. "Why wouldn't she get help?"

This was clearly the part that she'd been most nervous about telling him. What was it? What big secret was she about to tell him?

"We didn't have her DNA on record before now," she said. "She was an only child of only children, her nearest living relative something like a twice-removed third cousin with only some shared genetic links. But that's not how we identified her."

"Dental records," Thor said, thinking of what Frigga had told him in the woods - teeth were a kind of bone, probably. "I mean, that's how they do it on TV."

"Actually, we found a medical device among her remains. An artificial heart valve. The serial numbers are unique and according to her doctor's records, she suffered from congential valvular heart disease. She'd had several operations throughout her life to replace part of her heart that simply didn't work properly."

"And that's what... killed her? Her heart?"

"Most likely, yes. And I also believe that this is why she didn't tell anyone. It's not my branch of medicine really, but the stresses that pregnancy puts on the body and particularly the heart are severe. If she had been my patient, it would have been my duty to inform her of all the risks. I have no doubt that she knew what doctors would say and deliberately avoided them."

"What... What kind of risks?"

She shifted in her chair, clearly uncomfortable but determined to make everything as clear as possible.

"During the second and third trimester particularly, the heart rate increases, hormonal changes affect blood pressure and there's often a big increase in blood volume too. All that puts a lot of pressure on the heart and with an artificial valve and the level of heart function she had... The risk to her health would be very severe."

Something in Thor's body had dropped, some kind of dread creeping in.

"How severe?"

"If I had been her doctor, I would have been very concerned and I would have advised her to think very carefully about proceeding with pregnancy. I would not have expected her to go to term without some kind of complication, potentially fatal for her or the child or both."

"So do you... Do you think she could have died in childbirth? That her heart could have stopped? Like a heart attack?"

The hesitation rather answered that question for him.

"It's very possible," she said gently. "I would even perhaps suggest that it is the most likely conclusion based on the evidence we have. Her body was buried very carefully. I think someone who loved her did that for her and made sure her child was safe. It might even have been your father, whoever he was. We haven't yet found a match for him, but we'll keep looking."

Thor had somehow imagined Frigga leaving him at the hospital and then going into the woods to dig her own grave, choosing to live with the trees rather than humans. This was different. Maybe she'd hoped she'd live, hoped she'd defy the odds, learned to enter the trees just in case she had to but thought maybe it wouldn't happen.

Going into the woods to give birth out there in the open with no help, or only dryads to assist her. Using the last of her strength to enter a tree, to save her spirit and mind as her body failed. And doing it for him. Because she'd wanted him so much that she lost her life.

He hadn't expected to get emotional. He knew she was dead; what difference did knowing the details make? Dr Cho unearthed a packet of tissues for him from one of her desk drawers.

"Thank you," he said, trying to get a grip on himself. "I, er... I don't know what to say really. It's... a lot that I didn't expect."

She smiled at him.

"I'm just glad to know someone will remember her. It's nice to have a positive outcome on one of these cases. It's not always like that."

When Thor stepped back onto the street, he felt a little different. He had a few answers, finally. A better sense of his place in the world.

He took a deep breath and a long exhale, some weight leaving his shoulders but some additional concerns just beginning to worry at the edges of his mind.

Right.

Time to go find Loki.

He'd had a lovely time, it seemed. There was a big glass house here, letting him see some of the plants from his beloved rainforest documentaries. None contained a dryad, but he'd had some conversations with some in the wider park. Hawthorns and sycamores.

The question hovered under Thor's tongue. Should he ask?

"Were you there," he murmured as they made their way back towards the train station. "When I was born? Did it happen in the forest?"

"It did, but your father asked for privacy. I didn't see it. I just felt it when Frigga arrived with us permanently."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

He didn't understand. Of course he didn't.

"Frigga died that day. She died there in the woods giving birth to me. Why didn't you say?"

And Loki frowned, confused.

"No. Her body died, but..."

"But she became a tree," Thor finished.

They were looking at this from two completely different angles. Thor was thinking about the death of her body and what that meant, the loss of freedom and all the things a physical presence could do. All the things they'd never done together, all the life they could have shared as mother and son. Learning to walk and talk, birthdays, first day at school, summers, all of that... Loki saw it as a change, neutral if anything.

They still had a lot to learn together. And Thor was already thinking of the future. It wasn't going to be easy to fabricate an identity, but he was fairly sure it was possible if they were careful. People did make false documents. It was possible.

And they always had the insurance policy of the woods if they needed it.

Thor was determined to learn how to talk to the dryads without having to leave his body. He wanted to talk to Frigga, he wanted to meet the others and get to know them.

They were practically family after all.


	30. Chapter 30

"Thor, come to bed."

He glanced up to find Loki standing in the doorway wearing the duvet.

"I'm just coming," he said. "Just finishing off the accounts."

"It's not warm enough without you."

Mm. He didn't quite believe that, but it was very tempting all the same.

"A couple of minutes," he insisted. "I'm nearly finished."

"Alright. Be quick."

Thor smiled and watched him go, the bare legs peeking out from beneath the blanket decidedly promising.

Winter hadn't been a surprise to Loki, obviously, but his first experience of the common cold had been. He'd been very put out at being ill and developed something of a honey and lemon addiction for a week.

Mince pies were going down well though. And Christmas carols. Christmas trees were more of a sticking point, but they were working on it. The ones Thor sold, ordered specifically and sitting out the back waiting for collection, were all ethically grown, new trees planted every year, and that explanation had helped a little.

They were very green and bushy this year and had mainly become like that after they arrived. Slowly but surely, Thor was learning to control his powers and let out the vitality in little bursts. It was good business sense, really. His wreathes were wonderful this year, his Christmas cacti almost guaranteed to flower, ribbons wrapped around florishing lilies and orchids suitable for gifting.

It was snowing, not the fluffy white flakes that he remembered from his childhood but little gritty ones that rattled off the windows, dark and miserable outside.

And he had the one he loved waiting for him all warm and cosy...

Responsibility first. He finished inputting all the week's data, all the ingoings and outgoings. It was important, especially at this time of year.

He was getting a lot more done now that Loki was helping him. He'd become quite popular on the shop floor for his enthusiasm and he'd mastered pricing and using the till and all that which gave Thor more time for tending to the plants and doing admin.

And researching how to build a false identity...

He was probably going to get caught, but he was trying to go about it slowly. They'd got Loki a phone contract under his own name - Loki Wood, trying for a common surname that he felt kinship with - as a first attempt. A bill was useful. It had an address on it.

He hadn't tried the electoral roll yet. That seemed a little too risky. He wanted to at least try to build some kind of artificial history for him first. He was going to end up talking to some very shady people but, well... It would be worth it.

Frigga was advising him. He visited her quite often, every other weekend, sometimes in the evenings, cycling out to the forest. He'd seen it change from lush greenery to hundreds of shades of autumn, brown and yellow and red, dead leaves crunching under his feet.

He was only able to talk for a few minutes usually. It took a lot of effort, but his stamina was growing. He told her that he knew about her heart condition. He'd awkwardly talked about feeling guilty and grateful and a lot of other emotions. It was difficult. You couldn't just jump to having that parent-child relationship right away. Frigga seemed very relaxed about that though. Time wasn't really a concern for her anymore.

Sometimes he wondered how it had been to lose his father when she'd more or less expected eternity with him, but he hadn't quite built up the courage to ask yet. Nearly thirty years wasn't bad though. Lots of people had less than that.

He wasn't sure what she thought of his relationship with Loki. Broadly happy, he thought. She was rather enigmatic though. Or maybe he just wasn't practised enough at reading her emotions just yet. He thought she liked Loki and was glad they were happy, but she was also a realist and wasn't afraid to mention the difficulties that they might face.

But that was good, really. It helped him stay grounded. Or as grounded as he could be, with his life now full of dryads and new abilities.

Sif helped too. She had taken everything admirably in stride. It was so good to have someone he could talk to, someone else this was all new to. They'd bought an air mattress of their own for when she stayed over, the three of them working through as many films as possible to help build up Loki's pop culture knowledge.

And he learned other things too. Like how some words shouldn't be said around sweet elderly ladies trying to buy geraniums and "Yippee-ki-ay, motherfucker" was definitely on that list. He'd written it down. His handwriting was better than Thor's these days.

Right... All done. Still in profit, even a little higher than at the same time last year and the year before. A nice cushion going into the new year.

"Thor..."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just coming."

All saved, all up to date and done. Thor brushed his fingers down the edge of his most recent batch of wreathes, just giving them a little boost, and turned out the lights before heading to the bedroom.

Where Loki was clearly _very_ busy beneath the blankets...

Thor leant against the door frame, taking in the twin tents in the duvet concealing parted legs, the motion of hands evidently up to something.

"You are insatiable," he teased.

"I'm cold," Loki said. "You need to come and warm me up."

Well, with such an invitation, who could possibly resist?


	31. Chapter 31

It had taken a long time to get to this point. Loki had been impatient and eager, but they'd taken it slow.

That first time, after weeks building up to it, had been intense. Thor was terrified of hurting him, moving so, so slowly, listening intently for any sound that might be even slightly pained.

But Loki had just moaned and gasped and ground back against Thor's hips, turning his head to the side for kisses.

It had been pretty good and was only getting better as they learned exactly what they enjoyed most.

Loki moved the corner of the blanket to the side, an obvious invitation but clearly having no intention of getting even a little chilly really.

Thor undressed quickly, Loki giggling as he joined him, into his arms, so warm and perfect.

God, he loved him. And with other partners down the years, he'd always had that thought that maybe with a little twist of fate, their paths might never have crossed. What likelihood would there have been that his path would cross with a man who hadn't even been a human a year ago?

"Hey," Loki said, taking his face in both hands. "Stop thinking."

It was nice to be able to focus solely on this. No worries or thoughts except how much he loved Loki and wanted to make him feel good.

And that started with making sure he really was ready. He would be, of course. He was becoming very practised at preparing himself, but it made Thor feel better just to be sure, gently testing with his fingers, Loki humming with pleasure at his touch.

"I'm ready, I promise."

"I know. I just like to feel it."

He was pulled into kisses, feeling Loki laughing against his skin and then letting out a long exhale as Thor gently pushed inside, gripping him with his legs and almost using them to draw him as close as possible.

And when they were that close, completely held together, Loki rolled them so he was on top, the blanket round his shoulders like a cape, grunting lightly as he bucked his hips. Thor beamed up at him, hands on his waist, feeling his muscles moving, the bones beneath his flesh.

He was distinctly fleshier these days. He enjoyed food and Thor loved seeing him explore new flavours and textures. He liked the evidence that he was well provided for, healthy and happy.

Sitting up made Loki let out a little sigh, pulling the covers around them both, just a strip of Thor's back still exposed to the air, chilled nipples warmed against each other's chests.

And for a moment, Thor simply held Loki close, just enjoying that intimacy, until Loki rolled his hips forward with obvious intent.

Thor let him be in control, just supporting his weight, both of them breathing hard and growing more and more anticipatory. It was a bit of a game, waiting to see which of them would move first.

Loki, of course. He rocked forward, letting out a little satisfied sound, finding a good angle and freely taking his pleasure from it. Which was just how Thor liked it really. He got to enjoy all the sounds and sights of Loki enjoying himself very much.

To a point at least. And then Loki grinned at him and deliberately tightened his muscles, clenching around Thor's length to make him moan. He took great pride in being good at this, at how he'd learned what he enjoyed and how to achieve it.

He managed to maintain a gentle rhythm for a while until his desire got the better of him, almost bouncing in Thor's lap, hands planted firmly on his shoulders for leverage.

It was very, very hard not to come too soon, Thor gritting his teeth and getting a hand around Loki's cock to give him the friction he needed, just a little more...

"I've got you," he murmured. "Come on, Loki, I've got you."

"You first..."

Not quite. He felt it happen, that unmistakable rush and pulsing, wetness across his stomach, all tension flowing out of Loki's body. Thor came pretty much immediately. He couldn't hold back even if he wanted to.

And besides, now he got to ease them both back to horizontal, kisses and soft, warm caresses in the aftermath, tangling his clean fingers in Loki's hair.

"Mm..." Loki said. "That was nice."

"Sorry for making you wait so long."

"That's alright. Worth it."

He fell asleep first, letting Thor just admire him in the faint streetlamp glow before snuggling properly under the covers. Like a little cocoon for the two of them. Or an egg maybe.

Or an acorn. Full of life and potential.

He could hardly wait to find out how they'd grow together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there we go - I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> It'll probably be a little while before I post anything long. I'm plotting for Halloween and waiting for winter fic inspiration to strike (ideas welcome, though I make no promises).
> 
> Thank you so much for reading.


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